Smart card gets green light

[Tom]

TWO decades after the failed Australia Card, the spectre of Big Brother is back with a smart card yesterday approved by the Howard Government.

 

With your name and photo on the front and a chip carrying your address, birth date and details of children or other dependants, the non-compulsory card will be used to access Medicare and Government welfare services.

 

Holders also will be able to include information such as emergency contact details, allergies, health alerts, chronic illnesses, immunisation information and organ donor status.

 

The Federal Government says it will replace 17 existing cards, including the Medicare card, and save the country about $3 billion lost to fraud over the next decade.

 

Those who don't get one will have to prove their identity again for basic welfare services.

 

Early estimates put the cost of the card at about $1 billion dollars during its four-year introduction.

 

Prime Minister John Howard, once part of a Coalition which vigorously opposed the Hawke Government's Australia Card in 1985, said a national identity card had been rejected by his Government.

 

The smart card provided a balance between ease of access, security and privacy, he said.

 

Australians won't be forced to carry the card at all times nor produce it on demand to prove identification.

 

"There is no model around the world that immediately hits us in the face as being the perfect answer to this," Mr Howard said.

 

"And we have looked around the world."

 

Labor is open to the idea, saying it supports any move to stamp out welfare fraud.

 

But the Opposition is also concerned about the Big Brother implications.

 

Opposition human services spokesman Kelvin Thomson said Labor would raise "substantial concerns" about the implementation of the new card.

 

Australian Council for Civil Liberties president Terry O'Gorman said the smart card was the first step towards one.

 

"There is still the right to privacy and the right to be left alone and that is a strong view held by many citizens in this country," Mr O'Gorman said.

 

"For those not attracted by the privacy argument ... with the inclusion of data, particularly biometric data, on a single card, security experts say it will make it easier to engage in identity theft."

 

Attorney-General Philip Ruddock said there was already a national identity fraud strategy and the smart card would enhance work to better protect people's identities.

 

"It will give our agencies who need to be able to make appropriate inquiries within the framework in which data sharing is possible a proper capacity and an enhanced capacity to be able to do their work."

 

Human Services Minister Joe Hockey said it was not known how many cards would be issued.

 

He said there were currently 11.5 million Medicare cards in circulation as well as 16 other types of cards that would be replaced by the new system.

 

Mr Hockey said there was a huge potential for fraud in the current system at both a state and federal level which justified the new card.

 

"The states rely heavily on Commonwealth pensioner concession cards and health cards to provide benefits such as rental assistance discounts, electricity and a range of other things," Mr Hockey said.

 

"I saw one estimate alone of welfare-based fraud in NSW being well over $100 million a year because of unreliable use of pensioner concession cards."

 

Mr Hockey said about 25 per cent of pensioner concession cards were used after they expired and about 500,000 Medicare cards went missing each year.

 

Mr Hockey said those opting to apply for a card would be able to select fields of information they wanted the card to hold.

 

The Government says the card won't be used as replacement for an ID card in such public places as hotels.

 

Smart alternative

 

• The non-compulsory card will be used to access Medicare and Government welfare services

• Holders will be able to voluntarily opt for information such as emergency contact details, health alerts and organ donor status to be stored

• It will replace 17 existing cards, including the 11.5 million Medicare cards currently in circulation

 

Author:Michael Madigan

Date:April 27, 2006

Source:News Limited

Copyright:News Limited

 

[WantDaChronic]

With your name and photo on the front and a chip carrying your address, birth date and details of children or other dependants, the non-compulsory card will be used to access Medicare and Government welfare services.

 

Those who don't get one will have to prove their identity again for basic welfare services.

 

so what they mean by that is that people who get payments from centrelink will either have to get the card, or every time they hand in a form, go for an interview, etc. they'll have to take a bullshit amount of ID to prove who they are the howard government is fully aware 99% of people on welfare payments wont do that and will opt for the card as it will save a heap of time and effort for them

 

Mr Hockey said there was a huge potential for fraud in the current system at both a state and federal level which justified the new card.

 

well that says it all, its the politicians who commit the fraud, not the average joe

 

to be honest, i think this card is a bullshit idea that the howard government wants to trial out on people who are the poorest of the poor in australia basically howard considers people on the dole his guinea pig testers and as such, he is trailing out his ideas and not giving much of a choice in the matter, either you go on the card or you'll have to produce ID all the time to continue recieving payments and thats the nice way of putting it

 

FUCK HOWARD, FUCK HIS SMART CARD AND FUCK TREATING PEOPLE ON WELFARE AS GUINEA PIGS!!!!

[Pure]

"It will give our agencies who need to be able to make appropriate inquiries within the framework in which data sharing is possible a proper capacity and an enhanced capacity to be able to do their work."

 

 

I think i like that part the best , the person who came up with the wording should be given a fuckin medal, just makes ya feel so safe

 

the blunt way to put it would be , it will make it allot easier for us to grab all the info we need on you at the drop of a hat without a warrant

[naturalmystic]

IM hopeing the liberals wont win the next election and anyone who votes for them or did vote for them needs there head read , everything they touch turns to shit , lets see a bullshit war based on a lie were you all fooled cause i wasnt , workers rights and civil liberties that were won and fought for in blood sweat and tears thrown out the window" very unaustralian "and now this shit ,there nothing but a bunch of tossers in suits who dont give a hoot about the average australian let alone us smokers , im sick of this governement it just gets worse there most active in making peoples lives miserable for a few bucks not helping us in areas of health care and making our lives better , share the wealth around a bit ... but oh no we cant do that the lids that tight we get a type of healthcare that just scrapes in and not even . Its not a people orientated society we live in its a cold plastic society with plastic money and plastic ids . There using excuses to invade our lives more and more , the war on terror changed search and seizure laws now this is a blatent to tighten things up even more , blame it on fraud wat eva its bullshit they spend more money on military equipement

[Chev]

I'm realising as I hit my mid 20's that there is no 'good' politicians really, and I think corruption exists in every part of the world, especially in Oz and the Libs I feel are playing a big role in that right now, for sure.

To me the whole idea of the smart card is like stamping a barcode on ones head and being able to be scanned at anytime for all sorts of info. We're just numbers in the end.

I'm sad over our country's state of affairs, and I once was extremly patriotic and proud to say I came from this wonderful place Australia. Don't get me wrong, I love being an Aussie but some of the things we're being involved in is making me actually ashamed. We're meant to be the 'lucky country', I feel since the libs hit parliament our government has basically turned to shit

[naturalmystic]

I once was extremly patriotic and proud to say I came from this wonderful place Australia

 

Too right mate you me and a heap of other aussies dont worry , i feel that ive been privaliged to have had a taste of the lucky country in the seventies and early eighties , but at the same time ive also seen the decay and the change , something that was always specail and uniquely australian that i could never put a finger on , a feeling a happiness its hard to explain a sense that your living in the greatest country on earth , it seems that feeling is fading as we become more globalised our leaders used to be individual thinkers , now everytime they pass something through its like but america does it or pay more or its still not as bad as etc etc etc . Thats where where loosing it through globalisation and the commercailisation of australia where being sold out so that where gona end up just like everyone else . Just with some different landscapes in our family albums . This has never been more so than since howard and his henchmen have been in power , there all sellouts and suckholes , everyday im hearing about some poor bugger getting treated unfairly at his work place or just the feeling of insecurity , how do these australians feel now to be living and working in australia ?? probably about par with immagrants over the last 20 years yeh thats right now where being compared to non australian migrant workers , good on ya howard a true fucken aussie

[Pa-uul]

It seems Howard has done OK economically but, a lot of the credit for this must go to the likes of Paul Keating and Bob Hawke from the previous Labor govt because what is happening economically at any given time can be largely the result of what the government policy was 10 years prior. OK isn't good enough. We should be doing brilliantly and still have the highest standard of living and dollar in the world.

 

Australia rode to the front of the prosperity list on the "sheep's back" in our heyday in the three decades starting from the 1950's. We had a small but economically developed population on a huge resource-rich land. While Australia still ranks highly on standard of living lists it used to be and should be topping them. Howard has damaged us politically as well. The Iraq war thing and taking a hard-line on refugees has damaged our reputation and we are only beginning to see what the fallout is from the AWB wheat-for-weapons scandal which occurred on their watch (and let's face it, probably approval as well). So, they're actually pretty lousy – making right-wing politics come before what's fair and decent.

 

And this exchange rate thing is a rort. Below is the value of the Aussie to the American Dollar from 1966 to 1999 from eh.net. It shows it was worth more until 1983.

 

The table presents for each year the price of the U.S. Dollar in the currency of Australia.

The currency of Australia is Australian Pounds A� (1928-1965), Australian Dollars A$ (1966-1999).

 

year rate

1966 A$ 0.90

1967 A$ 0.90

1968 A$ 0.90

1969 A$ 0.90

1970 A$ 0.90

1971 A$ 0.88

1972 A$ 0.84

1973 A$ 0.70

1974 A$ 0.69

1975 A$ 0.77

1976 A$ 0.82

1977 A$ 0.90

1978 A$ 0.87

1979 A$ 0.89

1980 A$ 0.88

1981 A$ 0.87

1982 A$ 0.98

1983 A$ 1.11

1984 A$ 1.14

1985 A$ 1.43

1986 A$ 1.49

1987 A$ 1.43

1988 A$ 1.27

1989 A$ 1.26

1990 A$ 1.28

1991 A$ 1.28

1992 A$ 1.36

1993 A$ 1.47

1994 A$ 1.37

1995 A$ 1.35

1996 A$ 1.28

1997 A$ 1.34

1998 A$ 1.59

1999 A$ 1.55

 

Table courtesy EH.NET, Copyright © 2006

[MaC]

We have to resist this type of bullshit. Next we will all have to have a microchip? They will be able to track every move everyone makes. Now how secure is that. That’s what we all want rite?