Backbench Revolt On Health Smartcard

Backbench Revolt On Health Smartcard

The Age

Wednesday February 7, 2007

ANNABEL STAFFORD, CANBERRA

THE Government is facing a rebellion within its ranks over the $1.1 billion health and welfare access card, with several members of the Coalition fearful that it could turn into a national identity card.

During a Coalition party meeting yesterday, two backbenchers and assistant minister for health and ageing Christopher Pyne said they were concerned the access card could be turned into an identity card or used for purposes other than distributing welfare benefits, The Age believes.

Backbenchers also raised fears that the poor and disadvantaged could be left for long periods without benefits, because the Government had not put time limits on how long it could take for lost and stolen cards to be replaced.

They called for the introduction of "audit trails" by which cardholders could track who had viewed their information.

The rebellion comes as the Government prepares to introduce to Parliament the first portion of legislation for the access card - which will replace 17 social services cards by 2010 - and the databases behind it.

The legislation is meant to allay fears that the card could become a de facto identity card by vesting ownership in the holder rather than the Government and by introducing fines and jail terms for businesses who demand it as a form of ID.

But these protections may not satisfy all Coalition MPs.

Liberal MP Steven Ciobo - who was one of those who raised concerns in the party room - said while he was not "questioning the motive of this government" there were not enough protections to stop the card becoming an ID card or to prevent "a consolidation of identity information (held in the card register) into one database".

"We need to be clear about this card being confined to a health and welfare card and I believe (we can do that) by having adequate legislation and technical safeguards against future function creep."

Mr Ciobo - who recently returned from a study tour of Britain to see how its new identity card worked - said he was also worried it would be "only a matter of time before banks and airlines (who may use the access card to verify a person's ID) want to access the Government databases to verify it's your card. And that's a very slippery slope to an ID card."

But Human Services Minister Ian Campbell said while it was understandable that "anything that looks like or feels like the Australia Card" would raise concerns, the Liberal Party was "very, very strongly" opposed to any kind of ID card.

None of the Government members who raised privacy concerns in the meeting had said: "Don't do this legislation", he said.

"There was a general concern about it morphing into an ID card and I was able to allay their fears."

Senator Campbell said there were protections in the legislation that meant that any future government that wanted to change the access card into an ID card would "have to get it through the Parliament".

But the legislation that was being introduced this week was only the first step, Mr Campbell said, indicating that the Government was willing to consider "audit trails" and other measures.