Concern over ID card Bill
James Riley
MARCH 29, 2005

A PHOTO identity card system planned by the NSW government would allow
authorities to use a single database of all adults in the state and to
share data on individuals between departments and agencies, privacy
advocates have warned.

The photo card is being planned by the NSW Roads and Traffic Authority
and is being pushed through the state parliament by Transport Minister
Michael Costa.

Australian Privacy Foundation chair Anna Johnston said the photo card
plan appeared to be modelled on the same flawed principles as the
discredited Australia Card proposal of the Hawke-Keating government in
the late 1980s. The Council of Social Services of NSW (NCOSS) - which
initially supported a proposal for a simple ID system - says the Photo
Card 2004 Bill before state parliament poses serious risks.

The organisation is seeking sweeping changes to the proposed
legislation.

The Bill will allow the Roads and Traffic Authority to issue photo
identity cards to people older than 16 years who do not have a
driver's licence. The RTA will use the database to issue the cards. 

"We believe the model proposed in this Bill will not help the people
who most need a photo card, and will pose significant personal
security risks," Ms Johnston said.

"What is really disturbing is that this Bill enables the RTA to
develop a centralised identification database covering the entire
adult population."

The Bill did not limit the kind of information that could be collected
on individuals and stored in the central database, and put few limits
on how that information could be shared between departments, she said.

The Government, which introduced the Bill to parliament last December,
says the state needs a photo identity system to give non-drivers the
official ID they need to access services, such as bank accounts and 
e-tickets.

NSW Transport Minister Michael Costa said the photo card would be a
voluntary form of ID, but Ms Johnston said it "would prove to be an
all-purpose identity card, compulsory in effect if not in law."

The photo card would be based on the NSW driver's licence and would
have the same holographic, watermark and magnetic stripe security
features, a spokeswoman for Mr Costa said.

The Government would consider adding biometric security features 
to the card, such as fingerprint data, as this technology became
available.

Both the Privacy Foundation and NCOSS have written to Mr Costa seeking
changes to the proposed photo card, which will become available
through the state's motor registries later this year.

Mr Costa has ruled out changes to the Bill, scheduled to be debated in
the next sitting week of the NSW Parliament, which starts on April 4.

NCOSS director Gary Moore said the council supported official photo ID
for people u especially older citizens u who did not have a driver's
licence, but complained the government's response was a poorly
conceived system that created as many problems as it solved.

"The key problem is the unbridled way in which data can be shared
between departments," he said.

"The Bill doesn't have safeguards in place to protect people's
privacy."

NCOSS is seeking support from the NSW opposition and the cross-benches
in the Upper House to force amendments to the Bill.

                            -==-

Source: "The Australian"

http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/
0,7204,12684007%5E15306%5E%5Enbv%5E,00.html


Cheers, Steve...

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