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Australia to explore a national identity card

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

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The debate over whether Australians should be required to have a national identity card has been reignited following an announcement by Attorney-General Phillip Ruddock yesterday that a study will be conducted.

The concept is not new, being first floated by Bob Hawke in 1986. The idea was abandoned after being defeated in the Australian Senate and due to strong criticism.

The government cites terrorism and fraud protection as needs for a universal national identity system.

The opposition remains neutral on the proposal, saying only that cost and privacy would be major issues.

Defence Minister Robert Hill is cautious of such a plan, saying "I don't believe governments are entitled to any more information about you than is absolutely necessary".

The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which represents big business in Australia has voiced its opposition to the plan claiming the system could cost $750 per person to introduce, most of which would be borne by big business.

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  This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable.
Articles presented on Wikinews reflect the specific time at which they were written and published, and do not attempt to encompass events or knowledge which occur or become known after their publication.

Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.

Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.

Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.
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