Ian Campbell (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Human Services) Share this | Hansard source

Again I thank the senator for the supplementary question. It is incredibly important that the Australian people have faith in the privacy aspects of this, I think, very important reform. The agencies that the senator refers to have at my suggestion—and I think at the Senate committee’s suggestion—said that they will come along to the Senate committee and answer detailed questions about the very interactions that Senator Nettle is requesting information on.

I made the reference of this legislation to the Senate committee, and made it for as long a time as possible—I think it is just under six weeks—so that there is an open process of analysis of this legislation. I want to make sure that all senators are convinced in their own minds that this card is a good idea to make it easier for people to access payments—Medicare, Centrelink and Veterans’ Affairs—but that their privacy will be protected. I think one of the key elements of that is that the existing data that relates to Australians at Centrelink, Medicare or the Department of Veterans’ Affairs stays exactly where it is, and this does not change the access for third parties to that information. (Time expired)