Lawmakers in Australia’s Senate have just passed a new bill to roll out the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) digital ID system for public use.
The legislation easily passed with virtually no resistance.
Australia is officially on the path to having a national, government-regulated, WEF-controlled digital identity system.
The scheme will replace traditional IDs and will be able to be linked to systems that hold vast amounts of personally and financially sensitive data used by banks, insurers, utilities, and agencies.
The digital ID system has been developed to have the ability to link to bank accounts, central bank digital currencies (CBDC), and social credit scores, and vaccinate proof.
The Albanese government finally secured the required support for enabling legislation for the digital ID system in the Senate from the Coalition and the Greens on Wednesday.
Digital ID.. passed with minimal fuss.. minimal announcement
Not compulsory… yet.
The new Australia awaits
Social credit scores. CBDC. Carbon tracking.
Track and monitor every cent you spend.
The Treasonous bastards have sold out your children.
2030 ain't that far away. pic.twitter.com/tOAbWFyCY1
— Roller (@roller2426) March 27, 2024
It came after making concessions on safeguards and bank access to the new scheme, which will toughen privacy and speed up access to financial institutions and their client.
Banks, through the domestic payments network Australian Payments Plus (AP+), had wanted to modify the proposed digital ID legislation to circumvent the explicit prohibition on the use of racial markers, horrifying some stakeholders and policymakers.
The bid shrunk, although the government conceded to allowing banks and private businesses expedited supposedly faster access to the phased rollout of the Australian Government Digital ID System (AGDIS), down to two years from four.
Still, the government intends to run the digital ID system.
Banks are keen to control the identity verification check under the Document Verification Service for gateway providers back to financial institutions so they can monetize the ID checks for regulated CBDC transactions.
Australia Post had been an early entrant into this market as a credential provider.
But it is unclear where the left-wing Labor government intends to head with the state-backed retail credential.
Banks try to offload access to cash and over-the-counter transactions as the nation advances the WEF’s plan for “cashless societies.”
Unlike what has been imposed in the UK under the legislated “right to cash,” Australia does not have a Universal Service Obligation for cash.
Banks and the government insist they are now bracing for the next wave of scams and identity fraud to hit at a weaponized scale after a key Russian ransomware operator was officially sanctioned under international law.
Australia’s Finance Minister Katy Gallagher insists that Digital IDs will make going online “safer and easier” for members of the public.
“Digital ID makes it safer and easier for Australians to prove who they are online,” Gallagher said.
“Australians will be sharing less personal information, which is held by fewer organizations, that are subject to stronger regulation — reducing the chance of identity theft online.”
A statement issued by Gallagher said:
“Digital ID is just one of the ways the Government is responding to the increase in third-party data breaches, alongside the National Strategy on Identity Resilience, funding for the ACCC’s National Anti-scam Centre, the introduction of the Identity Verification Services Act 2023, continued reforms to the Privacy Act and the Government’s Cyber Security Strategy 2023-2030.”
The minister dutifully criticized the opposition.
However, in reality, there is now almost no federal political opposition to the digital ID legislation.
Strong opposition to the bill has also come from organizations such as the New South Wales Council for Civil Liberties, Digital Rights Watch, and Family Voice Australia where inadequate protections for sensitive data, and the risk of “function creep,” have been cited.
Also, there is the concern that there is the potential for the system to become mandatory in practice, even if it is nominally voluntary, there are fears that are compounded by the enthusiasm of entities like the National Australia Bank for a digital identity ecosystem, according to One Nation.
One Nation recognizes that this could extend corporate access to personal information far beyond what is currently permitted.
While the IDs may not be mandatory, they will be required for access to basic services, meaning those who fail to comply will be excluded from society.
The Law Council of Australia and the Green Party have raised concerns about the Digital ID bill’s implications for privacy, and human rights, and the potential for the exclusion of individuals lacking digital literacy. and as currently proposed, it seems poised to exacerbate existing societal divides, rather than bridging them.
Nevertheless, the Greens ultimately sided with the Liberals and Labour to pass the legislation.
“Australians will have one last chance to get rid of Digital ID by voting for ONE NATION at the next election,” says former member of Parliament Craig Kelly.
“Otherwise, it’s an electronic version of ‘papers please’ every time you step outside your front door.”
