Kerry Nettle (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

One of the bills that we are currently debating, relating to the access card, raises issues which have engendered considerable debate within the community. The government has not provided the opportunity for the public to look at the detail of the legislation. The legislation was introduced into the parliament yesterday. The idea of a national ID card, firstly in the form of the Australian Card in the eighties, has been around for a long time, but the public cannot understand the consequences if they do not have the details in front of them. That bill was only introduced into parliament yesterday. Sure, it has been in discussion—it has engendered debate because 80 per cent of the Australian population do not want a national ID card. People need the opportunity to look at the legislation to be able to see whether this so-called access card is, as the Greens and many others have said, actually a de facto national ID card.

There are members of the government’s back bench who have also pointed this out. We need the opportunity to properly look at the legislation provided yesterday so that this issue of public debate can be resolved. While little pieces of information about this access card dribble out, more and more Australians have become concerned about the consequences of setting up a database where everyone’s information is in there and a card which has a biometric photo and a microchip that is going to hold far more information than was ever proposed with the Australia Card. As these details start to come out people have become more and more concerned about the fact that this so-called access card is a national ID card. The minister said yesterday in question time that the concerns people had on these issues were legitimate and that the majority of Australians did not want a national ID card. Come on, Minister, come on, government, give us the opportunity to look properly at the legislation you introduced yesterday so that Australians and parliamentarians in particular can decide for themselves whether what is being proposed by the government is in fact a national ID card that Australians do not want.

We need to have a substantial Senate inquiry. The government said that there would be a public inquiry into this issue yet they released an exposure draft at the end of December just before Christmas, with the January break to follow. That is the opportunity that the government proposed for people to be able to have a public debate about whether we want a national ID card. That is ridiculous. It is a complete failure by the government to be genuine in any way whatsoever about consulting with the public on this issue when they introduce a piece of legislation into the parliament and limit the capacity for the public again to discuss a vitally important issue.

We all know in here how concerned Australians are about the idea of a national ID card. We all know in here how concerned Australians are about privacy and we know the community groups who have been speaking out on this issue and have raised concerns about this issue. That is why we have in this Selection of Bills Committee report massive lists of all the groups who should be invited to appear before the Senate inquiry. You cannot hear their evidence if you limit the opportunities for the Senate inquiry to exist, particularly after the government have said, ‘We’ll have a public inquiry; we’ll allow people to talk about this.’

The minister was in here yesterday in question time saying that people had legitimate concerns and did not want a national ID card. He is right: people do have legitimate concerns and do not want a national ID card. Not just the public but parliamentarians as well need a proper opportunity through an open and public Senate inquiry look into this legislation and determine for themselves if this so-called access card that is being proposed is in fact a national ID card. The Greens believe that the public need to have the opportunity to look at this information to determine for themselves what is being proposed by the government and for parliamentarians in particular to be able to determine how they should vote on this issue.