Over 90,000 Australians Demand Digital Identification Be Scrapped

Newly elected Liberal Senator from South Australia Alex Antic poses for a photo at Parliament House in Canberra, Thursday, June 27, 2019. (AAP Image/Sean Davey) NO ARCHIVING

An online petition of over 91,000 signatures is calling on the federal government to scrap Digital Identity legislation that signatories argue is a ‘power grab’ and a ‘fundamental threat to democracy.’

The Labor government is looking at creating a one-stop Digital ID that links all government documents, a scheme the former Coalition government started. Australians can expect to have it operational within a year connecting documents like a driver’s license and Medicare that will be verified by external organizations.

Opponents of the legislation are concerned about the possibility of a mandated Digital Identification system to access government services.

Senator for South Australia Alex Antic started the petition and wants to stop the rollout of policies he says are “the first step in (adopting) a Chinese-style social credit system.”

His argument is against the government collecting people’s sensitive personal data in one place.

“They want to cram it into a central government-run database—the perfect target for a hacker,” Mr. Antic explains in the online petition.

“They want to generate a ‘digital identity’ with this data. Then they will force you to use this ‘digital identity’ to transact online or access online services.

“If you don’t toe the line, your ‘digital identity’ could be cancelled, meaning you’d be cut off from the world of online services that people now rely on.”

The government says Digital Identity makes accessing government services simpler, safer and more secure.

“If you can’t use Digital Identity or don’t want to, you can usually keep accessing government services on the phone or in person at government shop fronts across the country. Some services for businesses may require a Digital Identity,” it reads on the government website.

Concerns Around Digital Identity Not Just From Australia

Critics around the world have raised concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic about vaccine passports setting the stage for a potential social credit system.

Canadian Conservative Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre has said that he would never allow a mandatory digital ID.

Proponents of the digital ID legislation have called Mr. Poilievre’s anti-World Economic Forum rhetoric akin to a ‘conspiracy theory.’

The Canadian government has also maintained that “digital credentials are completely optional.”

The federal government is in the planning stages of what they call a “digital credential eco-system” and plans to hold consultations.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee passed the Improving Digital Identity Act in April. 

Similar to Digital Identity legislation in Australia, that bill aims to improve convenience and safety.

Minister Dismisses Pushback

As for Australia, Finance Minister Katy Gallagher has pushed back against the opposition to Digital ID, labelling it as a conspiracy theory.

She has asserted that the scheme will remain voluntary and is partly focused on reducing cyber security threats that have been plaguing the country.

“Through a Digital ID and myGov, Australians will have an easy, secure and nationally recognized way to prove who they are once when accessing a variety of government services online,” said Ms. Galagher in a press release back in January.

“This reduces the need and frequency for personally identifiable information to be collected and stored by government or other organizations.”

Considerable dollar figures have been budgeted by Labor to bring forth Digital ID. Upgrades and maintenance for MyGov, which runs on Adobe software, will cost $134.5 million (US$86.4 million).

The Department of Finance and the Digital Transformation Agency will also have access to a budgeted $26.9 million to help maintain the Digital ID system.

“Australians can rest assured that every element of myGov will operate under the framework of choice, control and transparency,” said Minister for Government Services Bill Shorten in the same press release.

However, the opposition remains determined to prevent the legislation.

“Scrap the ‘Digital Identity’ legislation and stop the rollout of forced digital identity policies across government services,” says Mr. Antic in his petition letter to the Prime Minister.

“Stop buddying up to Big Tech, who wants to digitize everything and cancel sensible centre-right political views.”