The federal Minister for Heath, Nicola Roxon [1], has announced plans to use smartcard technology to run a long discussed patient information system - the e-health initiative [2]. This would involve access to patient records by harnessing a unique identifier contained on the smartcard.

The smartcard system, and the Medicare system, are overseen by Minister for Human Services Chris Bowen [3]. The cost of a patient record system accessible by provides within a secure framework is estimated by Deloittes at $760 million over a ten year roll out. This is less than the $1.1 billion suggested for the old Access Card, as the cost of registering the passport like identity checks is not part of the package.

Karen Dearne has a good article on the issue in The Australian IT[4].

Access Card No Way [5] Convener, Tim Warner, is raising the privacy concerns with the relevant Ministers, shadow Ministers and the usual suspects at Electronic Frontiers [6] , the Australian Privacy Foundation [7] and Liberty Victoria [8] - he will get back to the blog with any updates.

The concerns about who keeps what records, how they are protected from unauthorized access, whether the unique identifier is to be available for other projects - the dreaded function creep - are all issues now firmly on Chris Bowen's plate.

Access Card - No Way !

[1] federal Minister for Health - Nicola Roxon's homepage

[2] the website of th federal-state e-Health initiative

[3] federal Human Services minister - Chris Bowen's website

[4] Roxon revives smartcard plan - by Karen Dearne, Australian IT - 16 June 2009

[5] Access Card No Way Campaign was founded in June 2006 and is Australia's leading voice for protesting the Access Card and similar compulsory smartcard ID's from a classical liberal philosophy.

[6] Electronic Frontiers foundation website - dedicated to a free open net

[7] the Australian Privacy Foundation - concerned with privacy and identity issues

[8] Liberty Victoria - the foremost defender of civil Liberties in Victoria, and one of the oldest such organizations in the Commonwealth.

No matter what we do, every time we have an election we end up electing politicians. The Rudd Government was elected on an unequivocal platform of stopping the previous Access Card scheme and NOT using similar programmes.

The Access Card No Way Campaign [1] is very concerned by reports that Labors razor gang is looking at an Access Card to 'reduce costs'[2] [3].

The then Opposition Human Services spokesperson was very clear -

Ms Plibersek said Labor considered smartcard technology to offer useful applications, "but we have no plans to look at any similar projects".

Labor declared its opposition to the Access Card back in March, with Ms Plibersek describing it as "simply a national ID card in disguise".

"It is an ill-conceived, poorly executed project that will cost a great deal more than the Government imagines or is prepared to admit," she said.

Ms Plibersek predicted the card would be an election issue.

"It will be on the radar, as people realise every single Australian will have to attend an interview, be photographed and provide original documents they will have to apply for and pay for," she said.

"With the potential for the information they provide to be lost, stolen or misused, I think they'll be very anxious." [4]

The press is full of stories of identity theft, loss of privacy, stalking, domestic violence after abusive spouses track their former partner. The individuals right to a clear personal space - and for the strongest sanctions and limits on those who use personal data are at the heart of legitimacy in the digital era.

The fact that it is convenient for the State to over collect data and to link that data is no excuse for them to do so. To also ask the individual to participate in their being electronically branded is the height of arrogance - an arrogance that seems to belong to all those sitting ion the Government benches.


Access Card - No Way !

[1] Access Card No Way Campaign was founded in June 2006 and is Australia's leading voice for protesting the Access Card from a classical liberal philosophy.

[2] ZDNet Australia - Labor promise 'We won't bring in new Access Card' -Marcus Brown 13 Mar 08

[3] The Australian - 'Smartcard could be revived', March 13 2008-

[4] The Australian IT - Labor to Dump Access Card, Karen Dearne and Ben Woodhead | October 16, 2007

The Access Card No Way Campaign [1] is pleased to announce that the Access Card we have grown to know and loath is GONE!. The incoming Labor Government has confirmed that they will dismantle the existing Office of the Access Card and the other parts of the Human Services and Veterans Affairs Departments set up to organise the new Card.

ACNW Convener, Tim Warner, issued the following statement -

"As Wellington said of Waterloo - this victory was a damn close one, all those who are concerned with our privacy and our liberty should maintain the watch" said Mr Warner

"We are not packing up our tents yet, this is a battle which some in the civil service and in the Governments service delivery see with a narrow vision, they will not be resting until they have complete details of peoples lives at their finger tips."

The Campaign acknowledges the debt all Australians owe to Senator Natasha Stott-Despoja, the Democrats team and to those Liberal Senators who issued a damning majority report in March - Senators Brett Mason, Mitch Fifield and John Watson. Without the Senate inquiry report in March the whole Bill would have moved into the issuing of contracts before the change of Government - making the ALP about face very unlikely.

The civil service has long desired to have what they perceive as greater efficiency in service delivery - and which the citizens would find was a great intrusion and breach of privacy. The Department of Humans Services will likely have another version of this scheme on the incoming Minsters desk. It is up to all of us to maintain that vigilance that is the cost of personal liberty, and make the new Minister aware of the political cost of resurrecting any such programmes.

Access Card - No Way !

[1] Access Card No Way Campaign was founded in June 2006 and is Australia's leading voice for protesting the Access Card from a classical liberal philosophy.

The Human Services spokesperson for the ALP, Tanya Plibersek, has confirmed that a Rudd Government would scrap the Access Card programme. After some months of comments about the programme having a good idea and poor execution the ALP has come to the obvious conclusion that the Access Card is simply dead on arrival.

The Access Card No Way Campaign [1] welcomes the new policy. Access Card No Way Convener Tim Warner was present earlier in the year at an information session run by Liberty Victoria, where Ms Plibersek was startled to receive some very negative feedback to the announcement of the previous indecisive policy.

Access Card - No Way !

[1] Access Card No Way Campaign was founded in June 2006 and is Australia's leading voice for protesting the Access Card from a classical liberal philosophy.

Great news ! The Minister for the National Identity Register, Senator Chris Ellison, has announced that the new revised Access Card Bill will likely not be presented to Parliament next week, but may in fact not even be presented before the election. You can find details of this in an The Age article 'Access card legislation may be delayed' and here at the ABC. Strangely you cannot find this fascinating nugget on the Office of Access Card site which trumpets positive spin so often, nor on the Ministers official page.

The Access Card No Way Campaign [1] has long called for the Access Card and the associated National Identity Register to be scrapped - as profoundly against the philosophy and best interests of the Liberal Party, bad policy process and a standing danger to the liberty and freedom of future Australians. Put simply it is too dangerous to be trusted to unknown future governments.

The Minister has made much of provisions in the first Bill making demands for the Card an offense [2], but this is factious. First, the crown immunity clause totally negated the offenses in the Bill for demanding the Card if you were a Commonwealth officer. The Minister and the Office of Access Card had no reply to the stunning oversight when it was pointed out during the Senate inquiry - there had simply not been enough consultation or thought given the legislation.

Second, provided you asked for the Access Card or a signed letter of authority from the Grand Pooh-Bah of Ragistan they were within the meaning of the clause, they offered a choice rather than a demand.

Finally, the fact that the National Identity Registry existed, with 99%+ of the population filed, meant that any future government with evil on their minds would have an ID system at the stoke of a pen. Simply be changing the "cannot demand" to "must be carried and produced". This sort of Register is simply an invitation to abuse.

The Access Card No Way Campaign will not rest yet - this National Identity Register and "Access Card" must be killed stone dead.

Access Card - No Way !

[1] Access Card No Way Campaign was founded in June 2006 and is Australia's leading voice for protesting the Access Card from a classical liberal philosophy.

[2] Human Services [enhanced service delivery] Bill 2007, Div 2 Section 45

Today's Australian IT section leads with the story "Access Card put on the backburner". The Minister for ID Cards, Senator Chris Ellison, has admitted that the timetable to start registering adult Australians by April 2008 is in tatters. The new timetable calls for a 'late 2008' start to the process to register adult Australians on the National Identity Register.

Access Card No Way Campaign [1] has long called for a more considered approach to this very large leap into the unknown. The demands to be made on the citizen, the need for carefully considered legislation and very strict controls over the whole process require calm deliberation. The Senate Committee which rejected the first Bill in March [2] stated

3.192 In the little time the Committee has had to consider the bill, a number of matters of concern have arisen. Furthermore, important measures that need to be taken into account including protections, appeals and review mechanisms are to be considered in a second tranche of legislation. The Committee has concluded that it is not possible to assess the proposed access card system in the absence of these safeguards and other measures. The Committee considers that the bill needs to be combined with the second tranche of legislation into a consolidated bill to allow proper consideration of the access card proposal.

Anna Johnson of the Australian Privacy Foundations No ID Card Campaign called for the end to this extended death throw - "The project management of the access card is in such a state of shambles that the project should be shut down immediately," Ms Johnston said.

"Forty million dollars of taxpayers' money has already been spent this year on external advisers on this project and yet the Government still has not figured out how the access card is supposed to work."

Access Card - No Way !

[1] Access Card No Way Campaign was founded in June 2006 and is Australia's leading voice for protesting the Access Card from a classical liberal philosophy.

[2] Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Public Administration
Human Services (Enhanced Service Delivery) Bill 2007 - inquiry see http://www.aph.gov.au/Senate/committee/fapa_ctte/access_card/report/index.htm

[3] The Australian Privacy Foundation website on the ID / Access Card is here - http://www.privacy.org.au/Campaigns/ID_cards/HSAC.html

The Democrat Senator Natasha Stott-Despoja has caused the Government a major embarrassment during Senate Estimate hearings. The senator asked why the Access Card website referred to three national ID cards as using the tried technology that Australia would utilize. However, under questioning it was admitted none of the three actually used a bio-metric photo at the heart of the Australian ID scheme.

The website has been "reworded" to reduce their implication that the untried scheme has been used elsewhere, on the scale that the Office of Access Card and their commercial vendors would have the public to believe.

For more on this see the Press Release from Sen. Natasha Stott-Despoja.


Access Card - No Way !

Tim Warner, founder and Convener of the Access Card No Way Campaign [1] was honoured tonight by the Celebrate Capitalism Campaign. The Melbourne Creative Project Leader, Mario Panopoulos, announced the award at a dinner in Richmond as part of International Celebrate Capitalism Day.

Each city that participates in the Celebrate Capitalism events is asked to name a person who, in the previous year, has defended or promoted those values which underlying Capitalism - namely freedom, creativity and imagination.

Previous Melbourne winners have included hardware store owner Frank Penhalluriack (jailed in the 1980's for opening on Sunday's) and Pastor Daniel Nalliah for reading the Koran to his congregation (found guilty under the Victorian Racial and Religious Tolerance Act for inciting hatred by reciting the Koran - judgement later appealed)

Tim said " I am very honoured by this award, and I wish to thank my family, Anna Blainey and the supporters of the Access Card No Way Campaign for giving me the backing in this important struggle for our freedom as Australians"

Access Card - No Way!

[1] Access Card No Way Campaign was founded in June 2006 and is Australia's leading voice for protesting the Access Card from a classical liberal philosophy.

NOW is the time to phone, email and write to your Liberal and National MPs and Senators. The new Bill will be presented to the Party room and the Parliament on 12th June.

Click here to find a list of MPs and senators homepages


If you aren't sure who your MP is then you can check at the AEC here.

Ask the MP -

Do you support the Card?

Do you support having the signature and the photo on the face of the Card?

Why isn't the KPMG Report to be updated before the Bill is approved?

If improving Medicare is the driver why is the eHealth initiative not included in the design?

Why a Gold Standard ID for a universally available service (Medicare)?

What has changed from 1987 to now that the Liberal Party now supports a photo identity document?

Please feedback any comments to the Campaign here

Access Card - No Way !

On May 23 a Forum was held in Melbourne to discuss the proposed Access Card. The date was chosen to coincide with the anniversary of the first attempt to register and control the free population. A short piece by Professor Geoffrey Blainey was delivered to the meeting by Access Card No Way Convener Tim Warner in his address - the piece can be downloaded here.

The Forum also heard from Chris Scanlon, co-Editor of Arena Magazine and Michael Pearce, Vice-President of Liberty Victoria. At the conclusion of the meeting it was agreed that a combined effort was needed and that those organisations with representatives present will arrange to meet again to consider joint tactics and campaigning.

Access Card - No Way !

May 23rd will be the 156th anniversary of the 'Miners Right', first issued in 1851. The technique of Government spin is not a twenty first century invention. the 'Miners Right' was a license to dig for Gold - a very expensive license with draconian penalties.

The aim of the license was to discourage labourers from join the rush to the gold fields. By setting the monthly price at the equivalent of a months cash wage (30 shillings) the risk of failure was very high.

How does this relate to the Access Card ?

The 'Miners Right' was to be carried at all times, and hunts for unlicensed miners were conducted across the diggings. For a first offense the penalty for being found without a license was 5 pound (100 shillings). Even greater penalties for subsequent offense and no leniency was allowed.

The oppression of the miners and the behavior of the Government and the Police led directly to the rebellion at the Eureka Stockade in December 1854. The immediate result of which was a series of jury trials at which those captured were set free. The UK Government then instituted a series of reforms that resulted in Victoria's first democratic Parliament and the granting of votes to most males.

The Access Card is another attempt by the bureaucracy to make a population fit to rule. The demands for registration and validation are an affront to every belief of those who rebelled at Eureka in 1854. A card to Access those things that we already have a right to !

For a short statement outlining the Eureka link please click here.

Access Card - No Way !

The Minister for the Access Card, Senator Chris Ellison, has announced that he didn't listen to any of the long consultations he had last month. In a release dated 21st March the Minister stated he was consulting on the basis of the Senate Report. That the concept of the Card was not for discussion but broader issues were.

The Access Card Campaign, along with other stakeholders (to use the jargon) were invited to one-one meetings with the Minister. He stated specifically that he had asked the Ministry of Finance to prepare a costing on photo terminals for health professionals - as the Senate Report had commented that no case had been made for a photo on the Card, and without costings etc you cannot discuss the issue rationally.

The Access Card Campaign and others also raised the issue, mentioned in the Senate hearings and Report that the KPMG report was now a poor reference, given changes to the scheme and advances in the proposal as it nears 'fruition'.

On the 18th the Senator has announced that without releasing the very information that was asked for, he has unilaterally decided that the Card will go forward in its' worst incarnation - the photo and the signature will be on the face. The reason - the old KPMG report:

If you don't have a photo on the card, KPMG have said they would have to revise their assessment of how much fraud would be saved

In other words, the very thing which has been asked for, a revision of the KPMG report in the light of new concerns and changes in the Governments position cannot be inquired into!

A very minor point in the light of the Government and the Departments failures in Public Policy accountability. This major announcement has not been made in a Press release, is not available on any site. It is only visible on a News Ltd site for WA papers.

Clear, Accountable, Transparent - you decide.

The Daily Mail of London has a stunning story. The Home Office in the UK and the Blair Government, always intended their 'voluntary' ID Cards to be compulsory once most people had been issued one. The story 'Secret paper reveals Labour's lies over ID cards' is a very pertinent one for Australia.

The Federal Government has always backed away from notions that the scheme presented is in effect an ID card template. That a stroke of the legislative pen will create the ID state they claim to be avoiding. The Prime Ministers comments in the party room in February - to the effect that the Access Card was a security measure, and the populace would back a security measure - lay bare the real drivers for this Card.

The present Minister has assured the Campaign that it isn't an ID card, the Office of Access Card looks hurt when you accuse them of creating the infrastructure and rules for an ID card.

The sort of Sir Humphrey thinking in the UK is always closer to the Australian model than to the US of A. The Daily Mails article is a very worrying insight into the minds of the bureaucrats. Simplicity of administration is the driver, and a shackled population is that much easier to administer.

Sign the Democrat Petition, just click the graphic at the left of the screen.

Contact your local MP/Senator especially the Lib's - contact list for Coalition MPs and Senators homepages is here, just click on the hotlinked names. ASK -

Do they support the concept of the Card ?

Are they in favour of having the photo on the card ?

do they support an independent oversight of the Human Services and Medicare - not the toothless Privacy Commissioner ?

Watch this site, as well as keeping a check at the Australian Privacy Foundation Campaign site and for those wanting some serious policy meat the CyberLaw Centre at UNSW.

Sign on to the email list / volunteer list for the Access Card No Way Campaign.

Access Card - No Way !

The Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Public Administration has released its' report on the 'Human Services (enhanced service delivery) Bill 2007' - aka The Access Card Bill. In a committee dominated by Coalition members what was the result..... a denunciation of the swiz being pulled by the Human Services Department.

The Senate Majority Report does state that this Bill should be withdrawn until the Senate can see the 'second tranche' of legislation; otherwise it cannot determine what it is actually voting on. The Majority position does state that having no provision for oversight of decisions or the control of the Register is not good enough [1].

The Majority Report does state that the Bill has signs of poor and hasty drafting, and that the timetable given the Committee and the Senate does not allow for certainty that all errors will be caught [2].

The Majority Report does state that removing the photograph from the Card face would be worth the likely cost increase, as it would stymie the effective use of what is a health and social services card as a means of National Identification [3]

The Majority Report does ask that consideration be given to having ONLY the Cardholders name on the surface of the Card, all other items being a matter of personal preference [4].

The Majority Report does NOT deny that the scheme has merit, nor that a consolidated Bill with all the features promised by the Department would be a good piece of legislation – if the oversight, approved procedures and far better defined rights and restrictions re access to data were included.

The Access Card - No Way Campaign is relieved that this Inquiry has resulted in a very fair and impartial Report. It is impartial because we are still unsatisfied and the Government is livid

We salute the three Liberals who did stand aside from the Party constraints and applied liberal principles in their best and most rational incarnation. These three should be named and feted - the Committee Chair Sen. Brett Mason (Qld), Sen. Mitch Fifield (Vic) and Sen. John Watson (Tas).

Similarly the Democrats Senator Natasha Stott-Despoja (SA) and Greens Senator Kerry Nettles (NSW) have been unswerving in resisting the proposal from April last year. The two ALP Human Services Spokespersons Mr Thompson and Tanya Plibersek have guided the ALP to a reasoned rejection of the current Bill.

This is of course an intermission. The Humans Services Minister Senator Chris Ellison has already announced that this is not the end but a new beginning. That the new combined Bill will be brought before Parliament as soon as the hasty drafters can speed through their work.

The Senate Majority Report sets a very high bar for any new mega-Bill, if it fails to deliver it will be very messy for the Government, only two to three months from election day.

The Campaign is already planning for May-June as we work up to the vote on the new mega-Bill. We had prepared for a tussle in late March, it ended up being a great preparation.

We will be ready. You should pass the word, we can defeat this - the clear light of day and an informed public is what will stop the Access Card. That means you need to tell your friends and family about the Senate Report.

The name says it all - Access Card - No Way