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Joined: 22 Feb 2004
Posts: 140
Location: Auckland, NZ
Posted: Mon May 01, 2006 11:00 am Post Subject: Australia About to Adopt Identity Card
Quote:
Australians Smart Over Card Launch
Name, age and serial number please. Australia is about to adopt an identity card - of sorts.
Details of the card will emerge in next month's budget, but Prime Minister John Howard said this week it would not be a national ID card...
..."It will not be compulsory to have the card, but by the same token it will not be possible to access many services unless one is in possession of the card," Mr Howard said.
Australian's freedoms are further eroded by this development... Sure, its not compulsory... unless of course you wish to participate in society!
We need to watch this carefully, with the close links between Australia and New Zealand there could be increasing pressure for such a card to be introduced here too.
Yes its getting closer, dont you think, especially after watching our passports get them. Do you know if any aussie groups kicked up a stink about it I havent seen any sign of protests about it. A friend said to me that what with identity theft so rampant in the world it was a wise move, however it seems all too convienient to me. I think the cards will be with us in the not too distant future starting with the bankcards. The main thing that concerns me is that when this happens we are one step away from carrying chipped cards which carry an energy source and transmit your position to a satelite. Still if youve got nothing to hide whats the worry - I hate that philosophy.
Joined: 05 Nov 2003
Posts: 814
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
Posted: Wed May 03, 2006 11:41 am Post Subject:
Deano wrote:
Still if youve got nothing to hide whats the worry - I hate that philosophy.
Yes, it's an argument without logic really. It assumes that the only reason you would feel uncomfortable or opposed to being filmed, tracked and observed everywhere you go and in pretty much everything you do and having your private information cross-correlated and available to 'all and sundry' on some massive life-long database (might as well be), is if you DO HAVE something to hide #-o Which of course, is bollocks.
I wonder what effect total surveillance would have on society. Sure it might be behaviour-altering, but I doubt it that would be in a positive way... In science it is thought that the mere presence of an observer can influence the results of an experiment. This can be seen in action in the concept of the so-called 'reality TV show', where, far from being a reflection of reality, you have a situation where the presence of the cameras is creating bizarre and contrived distortions of behaviour.
A true reality TV show would be if it was not known that the cameras were inside your home - not only completely unethical of course, but probably very much more mundane. Every now and then, someone is caught having placed a hidden recording device in a public toilet or changing room etc... The natural public outrage toward such actions is understandable. I wonder what percentage of people however, would consent to surviellance cameras being placed inside public toilets if convinced it was for their protection and safety... :-k
Joined: 22 Feb 2004
Posts: 140
Location: Auckland, NZ
Posted: Mon May 08, 2006 1:55 pm Post Subject:
It's worth remembering in this discussion too that in the US now it is federal law that all new cellular phones must have a chip that enables the device to have its physical location tracked on the network.
That is not just each time you made a call, but everywhere you go with a cellular phone on you, since the device is constantly in communication with the cellular network to keep you connected to the nearest or strongest phone signal.
I have discovered that my phone comes with a similar location setting, which fortunately can be disabled.
