I’m all for national security. In these perilious times where I could be seriously hurt by a flying banana at the Cricket when the Mexican wave storms by, or when someone decides to plant a grade 2 nuclear weapon in my napsack at the train station, I think it’s in our best interest to upgrade the laws. No sarcasm intended. But something that I am aware of is identity theft. It is a problem I agree. But is a national identity card taking it to the extreme?
Bronwyn Bishop appears to think so. I find her comments that the ‘Nazi’s would have used this to round up the Jews’ particularly interesting. But to a degree, she has a point. There is two sides to this story. One is Fraud prevention and control, the other national security. I’m all for the first, but not so much the latter. Now we’ve been assurred that this is only to minimise risk and produce a more mainstream whole of government approach to running human services. But it also provides a level of check not previously afforded to the state. This is something that I am not so crash hot on. In a day and age where we are overregulated in this country, I fear that more regulation will bring inevitable discontent or complete apathy. Prominent thinker Max Weber thought that the Iron Cage of Bureaucracy would turn everyone into robots. I also heard some UK journalists who were out here on the ashes tour suggest that Australia is one of the most overregulated countries on the planet. Now that may be a bit of an overstatement, but it does ring some truth to me. We are regulated enough in everything we do. Perhaps a National ID card is only opening the door way for more regulation and more checking on the things we engage in. Thoughts?
February 8, 2007 at 12:41 am
I would add 2 points to consider here
During the old Australia Card days, back in the 80’s when the government came out promoting a plastic card for every man, woman, child, dog, cat, and canary, there was a strong feeling of opposition from church members. Pres Parker, an Area Authority, was leadership in a civil liberties group that was created to campaign against the government initiative. It was big news in my stake, with talk of inappropriate government access as well as the similarity with totalitarianism and the end of the world! LDS conservatives were generally against it.
Second, this Smartcard is not the only advance in human ID/data technology. I saw this on an NBC Today show story on the company producing the human chip, Verichip. The current Bush admin has paid this company for the development and setting up production for this chip. It is designed to store medical, financial and other human ID and transactional information.
So is this what’s next?
Check out this story in Time
http://www.time.com/time/health/printout/0,8816,214099,00.html
And for a somewhat exited LDS view of this technology I just found the following site http://www.greaterthings.com/News/Chip_Implants/index.html. It goes into detail about the NWO, the mark of the beast etc etc etc.
February 8, 2007 at 12:43 am
The concepts of privacy an anonymity these days is already under extreme pressure, without all this.
February 8, 2007 at 6:56 am
I recall Hawke attempting to get one going in the 1980’s. It was wildly unpopular. Perhaps the climate has changed post sep 11 and Howard sees it as a good idea now.
But I don’t like it at all. I feel like the govt knows too much about me already without this addition. Further, surely this only enlarges govt. It makes it necessary to employ more bureaucrats and lower level public servants to administer, regulate and run the system.
And what happens if I don’t want one? Tough luck!
I agree about your point moulmein, and further, I am genuinely beginning to wonder about the Liberal’s and their apparent small govt (compared to Labor) policy. They just seem to be getting bigger and bigger, and spending more and more. And the only reason they can do it is because they’re experiencing taxation at record levels and bathing in it.
February 8, 2007 at 9:23 am
I have alternate view – for those folks who have to provide the same information to multiple departments, such a card would be beneficial. I dislike repeating myself at centrelink, medicare, family assistance etc etc with the same info. I’m sure that many would find this annoying as well.
I do have concerns about improper access to the information and identity theft.
Dunno if it will clamp down on identity theft. If multiple cards replaced by one card, a simple supply and demand analysis leads to the thought that all you would get is a price rise for counterfeit government id/smart cards.
Some thoughts on the practical aspects of implementation – to make all this work it would require government departments actually talking to each other and working cooperatively (is that hell freezing over?) The politics, let alone logistics (including staff resourcing and IT infrastructure) of such an exercise are mindblowing.!
February 8, 2007 at 9:29 am
Regarding regulation (or excess of it) have a read of this speech by Tony Blair – http://www.pm.gov.uk/output/Page7562.asp He could have just as well as been speaking about Australia or any other nation…
However “reducing regulation”? As a nation, society and economy we have become explicitly and implicitly dependant on a huge amount of regulation. It would nearly be impossible to reduce regulation. This is due to the fact that as some markets for products and services mature and need less regulation, markets in new products and services appear and require regulation. Therefore it is almost impossible to reduce the overall burden of regulation.
February 8, 2007 at 8:39 pm
I have a tendency to agree with you on the card Brucifer. Centrelink/Family Assistance/Medicare would all be great to just tell them information once. If you can get someone good on the phone that is.
As for regulation, I don’t see how regulation of parking, regulation of where and when to cross the road and similar laws effects our economy. This is what I meant by regulation…
February 8, 2007 at 9:42 pm
There is also with issues the development of super data storage facilities.
Before you worry about the ramifications of a card, chip, eyescan or what ever, in reality, your data is out there for people to access, legally or illegally. Is the issue the card, or is it more about the effect of technological advances on record keeping that have already happened?
February 8, 2007 at 9:42 pm
We’re legislated out the wazoo we are.
February 8, 2007 at 9:43 pm
Irreversibly happened, I meant to add.
February 9, 2007 at 10:33 am
The old adage still applies:
“Who watches the watchmen?”