Photographer : Stefano Mortellaro |
If you are an Australian citizen that does not have a driver's licence, passport or bank account it may be difficult to locate, track or identify you. Many young people are in this position; a national identity card could provide them with a legitimate form of identification. Alternatively, critics of the Australia Card argue that this ID card will be a threat to privacy of personal information and that it raises concerns of identity fraud.
What’s the issue?The national identity card is a card which will be given to all Australian citizens as a form of identification, similar to a passport. However, the card will be compulsory for all Australian citizens. The proposed card—known as the Australia Card—could contain personal information including name, date of birth, criminal history and social security details. It is also likely to contain information that allows facial, fingerprint and iris identification. The controversy surrounding the card will depend on the type of information that is included. It may be a 'dumb' card which will include name, birth date, photo and identity number (Caslon Analytics, 2005). Or, it could go further and include micro chipping with biometric data and more extensive information from other databases.
Pros and consIdentificationOne reason the card could be beneficial is that it would allow for ease of identification of Australian citizens for security, migration and other purposes. If we consider the case of Ms Cornelia Rau, she either didn't have any ID with her or chose not to use it. Even if the Australia Card was in existence when she was picked up she may not have used it. This shows that a national identity card would not avoid all immigration bungles (Caslon Analytics, 2005).
Privacy and identity fraudThe technology already exists to create a national system of centralised information. Just one card embedded with a computer chip could contain a huge amount of personal information: name, address, birth date, fingerprint, photograph, social security and Medicare details, tax file number and criminal record. The system could be extended—through database linkups with private companies—so the card could also serve as ATM and credit card, public transport and motor toll pass (Hodge, 2005).
What could it mean for you?The information that would be included on the Australia Card is already available on existing government databases and registers (Caslon Analytics, 2005). The information, however, will be kept in a centralised database. In this way, authorities hope to tackle the issue of identity fraud. Unlike losing a bankcard, however, the national identity card cannot be reissued (Hodge, 2005). What could happen if you lost your national ID card?
Why is this an issue now?The issue of a national identity card was first raised in 1987 by the Hawke government (Commonwealth, 2005) and resurfaced again in 2004.
The present Federal Government has raised the issue once again, stating that the situation has changed in recent times due to terrorist threats. However, the Australia Card will not necessarily prevent terrorism, identity fraud, and welfare fraud, or address refugee identification issues. (Caslon Analytics, 2005).
How do I know this?Caslon Analytics 2005,
Caslon Analytics note government registers,
http://www.caslon.com.au/registersnote.htmCaslon Analytics 2005,
Caslon Analytics profile the Australia Card and beyond,
http://www.caslon.com.au/australiacardprofile6.htmCommonwealth of Australia 2003,
Resolving deadlocks: a discussion paper on section 57 of the Australian Constitution,
http://www.pmc.gov.au/conschange/discussion_paper/... Hodge, Amanda 2005, ‘Not so smart cards’,
The Australian http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867... 
