Hmm, 2700 employees -- hope they're paid well enough that some mobster
won't have an easy in with a cheap bribe, to the database! :P

Because I care,
|<+]::-)  (Cyberpope(the Bishop of ROM!))


On (29 Nov 06) Steve Asher wrote to George Pope...

 SA> Mulling over George Pope to Steve Asher 28 Nov 2006
 SA>
 SA>  GP> Sounds no different than cash, except a central control could
 SA>  GP> control the public's ability to spend it more tightly than with
 SA>  GP> cash. . .
 SA>
 SA> What, like this, in Oz?
 SA>
 SA>
 SA> Your details could be logged at the till
 SA> By Justin Vallejo
 SA> November 29, 2006 12:00am
 SA>
 SA> EVERYDAY transactions such as buying a store gift card or playing
 SA> pokies could lead to your details being recorded on a government
 SA> database under a crackdown on money laundering and terrorism.
 SA>
 SA> Top law firms, privacy groups and shopping giant Westfield fear
 SA> low-risk and low-value items such as gift cards, phone cards and
 SA> toll road passes could be subject to the Anti-Money Laundering
 SA> and Counter-Terrorism Financing Bill, which was passed in the
 SA> House of Representatives last night.
 SA>
 SA> Submission documents tendered to a Senate inquiry, obtained by The
 SA> Daily Telegraph, show the Bill could affect every aspect of our lives.
 SA>
 SA> Law firm Freehills said the Bill requires financial agencies, gaming
 SA> organisations, pawnbrokers, bookmakers, jewellers, lawyers,
 SA> accountants, real estate agents and any operator handling thousands
 SA> of dollars in cash to make "risk assessments" of clients.
 SA>
 SA> If there is even a slight suspicion of money laundering or terrorism
 SA> funding, operators must report details of a client's income and assets
 SA> to the Federal Government's AUSTRAC database.
 SA>
 SA> Moreover, 2700 people - more than half from the Australian Tax Office
 SA> - are authorised for online access to the database.
 SA>
 SA> Westfield's lawyers, Mallesons Stephen Jaques, told the inquiry that
 SA> under the Bill, gift cards could be classified as "debit cards" and
 SA> subject to the same scrutiny unless the Bill is amended.
 SA>
 SA> "It would become a criminal offence under Section 139 to issue gift
 SA> cards on an anonymous basis," Westfield's submission said.
 SA>
 SA> [...]
 SA>
 SA> "As stored-valued cards gradually replace cash, the anonymity of low-
 SA> value cash transactions could become a thing of the past - no doubt a
 SA> welcome prospect for the tax authorities," he said.
 SA>
 SA> Privacy Commissioner Karen Curtis told the inquiry there were concerns
 SA> over the 2700 people authorised to access the AUSTRAC database, with
 SA> more than half from the ATO. "Information collected for the purpose of
 SA> enforcing serious crime, such as terrorism, should generally only be
 SA> used for such purposes."
 SA>
 SA> [...]
 SA>
 SA> Full article at "News"
 SA> http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20840016-421,00.html
 SA>
 SA> Cheers, Steve..
 SA>
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--- PPoint 1.76