The Australia Card: Towards a National Surveillance System
Law Society Journal (NSW) Vol. 25, No. 9, October 1987
14 Pages Posted: 3 Jan 2013
Date Written: October 2, 1987
Abstract
This 'Australia Card' was the attempt by the Hawke Labor government in Australia to establish a national identification system. This article argues that the system to be established under the Australia Card Bill 1986 (Cth), will go beyond being a mere identification system, which the Government claims it is, and will establish the most powerful location system in Australia, and a prototype data surveillance system. The reader may judge whether these are desirable - or expected - developments. The article covers the following aspects of the proposed Australia Card system.
(Note: The Australia Card was defeated politically and abandoned in late 1987. The details are contained in another article on SSRN by the author: ‘Lessons from the Australia Card - Deux ex Machina?’ (1988) 3:6 Computer Law and Security Report) Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2195495
Keywords: privacy, data protection, ID card, identification, Australia, surveillance
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