To safeguard against terrorism, the FBI now wants the power to investigate citizens' records, in three areas, at will. These are financial, library and medical records. Now, I can understand the rationale for financial records (although a rationale is not a justification). Same for library records (someone at the FBI has obviously seen Se7en). But medical records? Are they assuming suicide bombers get a pre-explosion physical, somewhat similar to the medical examinations before executions, to make sure you're healthy enough to be killed? What do they want the information for? Why should they have it? In the light of this it's interesting to speculate on what the new Medicare smart card will end up as - an ID card perhaps?

Forget ID Cards. We should all just get microchipped then whenever we enter a building we can be automatically scanned to verify who we are after all an ID card really is no use unless you carry it. Then, in the not to near future our microchips can be upgraded to include global satellite positioning so the government knows where we are too.
Seriously though, anyone that actually believes a piece of plastic will stop terrorism or help DIMIA identify people that carry no identification (an ID card wouldn't be much help if they didnt carry it) are extremely gullible. A piece of plastic is not going to stop a bomb. DIMIA mistakes could have been avoided if they checked the missing persons database (both women were listed as missing) or any other checks had been performed thoroughly. An ID card will not solve DIMIA's incompetence, however it may make the Australian public more at risk from Government incompetence. Phillip Ruddock made a mess in DIMIA and now he's in control of ASIO does anyone really want to put control of their identity in his hands in the name of fighting terrorism. Just a thought.

Nothing in politics comes from thin air: See this 2003 submission to the Joint Statutory Committee of Public Accounts and Audit
Department of the House of Representatives from the Australian Identity Security Alliance.
http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/jpaa/aviation_security/submissions/sub26.pdf

For me this submission raises questions about the integrity of current security systems- before we even consider Australia ID cards.

I think I've been pipped at the post by all the posters here. Can only endorse what everyone has said. However, consider the recent notsoscientific poll on ninemsn website, here's what the drones to that site polled out as:

Monday, 18 July 2005: Do you oppose embedding your fingerprints in a national ID card?
Yes: 27547 (44%)
No: 34845 (56%)

Interestingly on Friday the majority voted that an ID would not be effective in deterring terrorism:

Friday, 15 July 2005: Would a national identity card be effective in fighting terrorism?
Yes: 32455 (44%)
No: 41884 (56%)

Yet they don't have a problem with the fingerprinting. Go figure. Even more bizarre is that the percentages of each poll are identical. Does this mean that the 56% who believe an ID card wouldn't protect us from terrorism are quite happy to have their fingerorints imbedded in one?

Can an ID be misused? Absolutely!

Would our current federal government misuse it? Well, how far can we trust John Howard?

The main business of government is CONTROL. Nothing more, nothing less. Absolute and without reproach. They pull every dirty trick out of the book to facilitate this, including exploiting fear (about terrorism) and manipulating very pliable minds (every conceiveable intellectual dishonesty, logical fallacy and emotional manipulation).

This sort of thing exposes the true colours of politicians. Sad that so many sheeple take the bait.

It good to see many well resourced and bright people are out there to help us see what is really going on and exposing governments' true agenda. Hopefully this is all that will be required to send the politician rats back into their holes on this one.

As far as ID cards are concerned, they are too easily defeated to be of any real concern. For example... forget to carry it, loose it, damage it so that chip/strip not machine readable, provide incorrect personal information, just to name a few.

Organised criminal rackets will be rubbing their hands together at the idea of another lucrative counterfeiting opportunity.

I am in agreement with a number of comments made, and in particular “nothing in government comes from thin air”. Even more so, “everything from government costs the taxpayer money”

The introduction of an ID card system will cost the taxpayer money, but the ID card system has the risk of being misused. An “el cheapo” system will likely have many risks for misuse, but to eliminate or reduce these risks will require a more costly system. The more risks that are eliminated, the more it will cost the taxpayer.

However history shows that the greatest risk to the public is normally from their own government, should there be few checks and balances placed upon their own government.

So eventually the taxpayer will have to pay for a very costly system, so as to reduce the risks that the ID card system will be misused, but most of this potential misuse will come from their own elected members of government.

I wonder which company will be awarded the contract to develop this ID card system. Best buy some shares now.