"in community hands?"

is yours the party that had 'citizen initiative referendum' on the policy, but took it off lest the community could defend itself without putting labor trotters in the treasury?

i don't mind a bit of hypocrisy from politicians, where would you be without it, but this whole screed is nonsense, probably just career inflation, and certainly useless.

Personally I am more concerned about many of the Democrats perverted policies than the access card.

I can imagine many advantages to having sure identification of individuals along with lifespan health and lifestyle data. We value privacy to the detriment of lives that could be improved and saved if only the information were available to research. So, in an ideal world I would be glad for everyone to be bar-coded or electronically-chipped from birth and followed through life.
But the downside to sure identification and deep archives is the potential for abuse, and this is not paranoia.
We have to weigh benefits against possible abuses.
I would like to see much stronger and punitive sanctions against those who abuse privileged information. Those who are tempted to pinch an archive for commercial use ought be dealt with very sternly because they are the enemies of society. Orwellian rulers need to be voted from office. Maybe then the balance of privacy and openness to the world can be judged in favour of identity cards.

This Access card is but a play on words, the reality is more dangerous than most people even Natasha realise. The last attempt was by the Hawke Labor government in 1987 and on that occassion the thinly vailed card to control the population fell apart. It contained items of control IE
1/A cardless person cannot hold employment
2/A cardless person cannot access his/her OWN bank account!
3/A cardless person cannot get medical help

All of the above carried a $20,000 fine to employer,bank manager, doctor.
The clincher was that the Government gave themselves the power to cancel anyones card without any guidelines as to trigger to do so and no time limit on cancellation or no avenue of appeal.

SEE http://an-m.net/AuID.htm by copying and pasting this into you explorer address bar. On this address you will find the Government link to see the original legislation.

One very worrying aspect to all this is that Howard finds it expediant to lie about the nature of the function of this card . Then we have the media complicity to cover the FACT there is a rollout in almost evry nation on this planet of thees smart card ID devices.

You have to ask yourself what is driving all this? If they say its to stop terrorism that can be quickly discounted as bunk because the supposed hijackers on 911 flew under their OWN ID's / names.

As I took the article to be about the Access Card and not about political opponents' opinions of the author and her party, I'll respond accordingly.

Ronald Reagan's handlers had a way with words when they had Reagan recite that the most frightening words in the English language are "I'm from the Government and I'm here to help you".

Indigenous NT residents are given this scary message as the government offers temporary protection from child molesters while removing the permit system enabling communities to control access of uranium miners to their land.

And now we are reminded by Senator Stott Despoja that all Australians are still offered "help" from the Government in the form of an Access Card (a.k.a. ID card).

As this project could, it seems, be fanned into life as hastily as the "invasion" of the Northern Territory it behoves us to make sure that nothing in the card can facilitate surveillance of lawful citizens who dissent from government policies and actions

As people travel through life they change either their appearance, via ageing, or their circumstances, via well....circumstances. What concerns me is that once the initial data is imprinted, WHO can alter it?
Can the Yr-10 receptionist at the local 24-hr clinic alter my medical data? What about the stressed, lowly paid Clerical Officer at Centrelink, can they make alterations? Can they delete stuff? And if they can, how do I know they have? In point of fact, how do we know what's on there in the first place? The data won't only be on the card, every change will be registered on a database somewhere, so will be be able to look at it? Who else can look at it? Two bob to a penny farthing the ATO and the Commonwealth cops will be able to get at it as well, because they already have a cosy little agreement in place.
In short and in principal - NO!

Mein Gott! Mein Gott! You vill haf a Card und you vill like it.
Vot you vant? A personal ID tatooed on your arm?
Ve haf ways, you know.

Liberales uber alles!!

Many countries in the world have identity cards of one sort or another and we will have one as well. Wht we need to be debating is the sort of identity card we have and the information it will need to contain.
Natasha,hello from university days. You know the Democrats are a spent force. They could have been a great force in politics but your words are a further indication of why they have failed. Come back to planet earth and people may forgive you.

Exactly why is the government refusing to address the concerns of so many? If for no other reason, this alone would worry me. Do we have a government who only has as its first concern our welfare? I don't believe so. They do, I would tender, have their own welfare and future re-election as their first concern. Also it has not been adequately explained how just such a card is to prevent fraud, especially when the implementation of it could indeed be an item that could be used in the future perpetration of fraud.
Natasha's article is a timely warning, and carries with it a lesson to be heeded.

To answer ARCTICDOG about why the government isn't answering the concerns of the public is clear when you test our government with these questions found on http://video.google.com.au/videoplay?docid=-461990723502527420&q=Despotism+%281946%29+Encyclopedia+Brittanica+Films .

They are now ferral meaning same as an animal that once domesticated has turned on its master.

I hold in high esteme the statesmen of old in the US who wrote the Declarartion of Independence, they were visionaries almost knowing that the dangers we have today were sure to come.

Please read the pre-amble of that brilliant document

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”

Stop horsing around, just microchip everyone's earlobe like we microchip dogs.

Seriously I am concerned that my medical history is stored on the card and readable by a police computer. What risk will I be in if I am receiving medical treatment resulting from clearly illegal activities like repairing drug abuse damage. Will I be treated fairly by the evangelical born again centrelink clerk who notices my health record says I have HIV or had an abortion?

Do we need this information stored on one card. As we have seen this fortnight the authorities can track us down very quickly when they want using the current technology. Wasn't Dr Haneef the first person arrested over the UK terrorist attacks. Hasn't the man he gave the SIM card to, not been arrested.

When Senator Stott Despoja says that the medical treatment information will be stored for private health providers does this mean that our compulsory private health insurance provider can store information on the card to control which medical procedures we can access or always channel you out of the public system.

Clearly the architects of the Access Card don't have a clear vision of what they are trying to achieve or are frightened that their vision will be rejected out of hand by the Australian public.

Well billie all your info is just a commodity to be onsold to the highest bidder for targeted marketing anyway so why worry. But the dog chip is already here in the US its marketed as the VERICHIP by a company called Applied Digital Solutions and the ex board member is running for President his name is Tommy Thompson. This guy has already made plans to implant all 1.4 million soliders there as well as the general population in the US. Here in Australia I have heard that our armed forces are soon to be targeted for that same implant to replace the dog tag.

The ID card is the vehicle that will be used to bring the legislation through then the RFID tag (verichip) will take over, thus fulfilling the Bible's warnings.

Natasha,

When I made my submission it was refused on the basis it was submitted too late. Finally, some time later it was admitted that in fact my submission was in time but now was it too late to be considered.
Now, what a nonsense is that?

Well, simple, my submission was exposing that the smartcard is in fact not constitutionally permissible. See also what I published on my blog http://au.360.yahoo.com/profile-ijpxwMQ4dbXm0BMADq1lv8AYHknTV_QH about this.
Then again, I do not expect you to bother to read it as after all, you would have known this if you had bothered to read my book INSPECTOR-RIKATI® on CITIZENSHIP, which I personally handed to you in December 2003.

Not something you may like, but with the GST that the States would not use their legislative powers to tax certain items in effect would be unconstitutional, as Section 123 of the Constitution requires a State referendum if the “limits” of a State (including legislative limits) are altered. Including any amendment to a State constitution!

And, if you finally bother to read my blog you may discover that WorkChoices remains unconstitutional regardless what the High Court of Australia stated!
Then again on 19-7-2006 I succeeded on all constitutional grounds UNCHALLENGED, after a 5-year legal battle, that the Commonwealth of Australia had no constitutional powers to make voting compulsory and hence I refuse to vote. But obviously, you still believe it to be compulsory as you never read my book. Did you?
My wife now is concerned that as she already is so long on an age pension the government might soon dictate how she can spend her money, as (albeit unconstitutionally) it now pursues this with social security recipients.
She wonders why on earth did she pay all the taxes for?
Anyhow, why not read my blog and you might just discover why the smartcard is/would be unconstitutional. Why Dr.Haneef detention is unconstitutional, etc.

Well, that is if you seek to rely upon the intentions of the Framers of the Constitution, that we must apply the RULE-OF-LAW and DUE-PROCESS-OF-LAW within the constitutional framework.

What-we-need-is-an-OFFICE-OF-THE-GUARDIAN,-a-constitutioal-council,-that-advised-the-Government,-the-People,-the-Parliament-and-the-Courts-as-to-constitutional-powers-and-limitations.