Privacy-intrusive measures such as a national identity card will not necessarily prevent terrorism, according to the Australian Democrats.
"Of the 25 countries most adversely affected by terrorism since 1986, 20 have national identity cards,"(1) Democrats' Attorney-Generals and Privacy Spokesperson Senator Natasha Stott Despoja said.
"Given Peter Beattie's vocal support for such a system, identity cards will be a key item of discussion at the upcoming counter-terrorism summit involving Prime Minister Howard and State and Territory Leaders.
"However, we must remember this is not simply about a card, more importantly, it is about the system that will accompany it. An identity card would involve a complex and universal identification system with a huge central database, elaborate communications networks, card readers and millions of cards.
"The cost, both financially and socially, could be enormous.
"Greater centralisation of personal information is likely to cause more problems than it solves. Security experts have warned that creating a single identifier or a single centralised database is likely to become a target for hackers, as only a single source needs to be targeted (2). It could also become a target for terrorists.
"Currently, personal information is held on numerous sites in many forms. This actually makes it much more difficult to access this information, which can only be accessed in the most unusual circumstances.
"Privacy must of course be balanced against the wider interests of the community and the nation. However, in this age of increased terrorism, we run the very real risk of losing the right balance, of letting fear rule our lives.
"We must resist the idea that by giving up certain rights we will somehow have greater protection.
"I will strongly oppose any move toward further centralisation of personal information," Senator Stott Despoja said.
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