Control Freak Howard wants to put ID cards back on the agenda.

[Matilda]

It was actualy suggested by Peter Beattie to prevent cases like
those of Cornelia Rau and Vivien Solon occurring again, but has
been taken up by Howard.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/we-should-debate-national-id-cards-says-howard/2005/07/15/1120934395401.html

The Rau and Solon cases wouldn't have gone as far as they did if
certain authorities had been doing their jobs properly in the first
place.

And ID cards will prevent home-grown bomb attacks? If the UK had
ID cards, all the Leeds attackers would have had them, and it would
have prevented nothing.

With Medicare cards and TFN numbers, they've got us all pretty well
pegged anyway. But Howard would love to have us living in a police
state - I hope the sheeple don't fall for this.

[rooboy]

1. Dumb shithead Australians...

are going to pay a heavy price for letting the Liberal Party gain control of the Senate.

[Djinn]

2. what on earth is the point

as you say - wouldn't have prevented the Solon/Rau cases and wouldn't do anything to stop terror - homegrown or otherwise.

a government desperately trying to look like it's doing something constructive (as opposed to blindly ideological)

be fucked if I ever carry an "Australia Card"

[velvet]

3. wtf ?

I heard Robert Hill on the radio today saying he'd support the introduction of an ID card as long as it didn't contain "intrusive" information. (What, like one's library borrowings ?) That sounds to me like the start of the spin to sell the damn thing to the people.

First IR, now ID - we're being IRIDiated !

[SweetLeftFoot]

4. Would be v. interested

to know what Howard said AGAINST the idea when Labor proposed it in the 80s.