Human Services Minister Chris Ellison, who planned to introduce legislation for the card to the Senate next Thursday, last night agreed to put the plan on hold.
The decision followed the release of a report by the Senate's Finance and Public Administration Committee in which government senators joined with the Opposition to call for a delay and reconsideration of the proposals.
They were particularly worried about a proposal that the card include a biometric photograph, warning it would increase the likelihood of it becoming a "de facto national ID card".
Although the move heads off a split within Coalition ranks, it is likely to derail the swift implementation of the card, which was designed to provide access to government services.
Senator Ellison said the Government still hoped to pass the legislation this year, although it was unclear what impact the delay would have on the rollout of the Access Card, which was slated to come into operation in April next year.
The Government had hoped that the card, which includes a microchip with detailed personal information, would be issued to more than 16.7million people by 2010 as part of a move to simplify service delivery while cracking down on identity fraud.
The recommendations of the bipartisan committee come after three Coalition MPs panned the card. They included Bronwyn Bishop, who raised the spectre of Nazism to say it could be used to identify certain groups.
Labor and community groups last night seized on the report, saying it reflected flaws in theplan and disunity in the Government.
Adopting the committee's main recommendation will mean the Government combines the first tranche of legislation -- which was to be introduced to the Senate next week -- to establish the framework for the Access Card, with the second tranche, which covers privacy and security safeguards.
"Important measures that need to be taken into account including protections, appeals and review mechanisms are tobe considered in a second tranche of legislation," the report says. "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, which is chaired by Liberal senator Brett Mason, criticised haste in the preparation of the bill, saying it had led to irregular and inappropriate actions, including the public release of government information without the authorisation from the committee.
The committee announced on February 8 that it would investigate the scope and purpose of the card, the information to be contained on the card's chip and offences prohibiting people from requiring an Access Card for identification in its inquiry.
A discussion paper on the registration process prepared by Allan Fels' Consumer and Privacy Taskforce, which was due for release in late January, has been delayed and is now likely to be released in coming weeks.
Despite uncertainty about the new timeline, Senator Ellison said the Government remained "committed to having the legislation passed this year".
"Bringing both tranches of legislation together allows members of the public and other stakeholders to see the full detail of the Access Card at the same time and help dispel some of the misconceptions about the Access Card," he said.
The scheme has been criticised previously for potentially leading to privacy breaches or identity fraud.
Labor, which has vowed to scrap the current version of the Access Card scheme, said yesterday the report was a further embarrassment to the Government. "Seldom do Coalition senators make recommendations that are critical of a government program, let alone multiple critical recommendations ... but the Access Card is so bad they have swallowed their fears and spoken out," Opposition Human Services spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek said.
Democrats senator Natasha Stott-Despoja said the report showed that the card needed to be "cut up and the flawed legislation shredded".
Autor(en)/Author(s): Cath Hart
Quelle/Source: Australian IT, 16.03.2007
