Online database despite concern

By RICHARD WOOD

The Government is ploughing ahead with a national identity database to allow access to Government services online.

But people may be at a disadvantage if they lack internet access or computer skills or do not want to be on the database due to privacy worries.

The Government decided last week to implement a single database system for online authentication and the State Services E-government Unit has begun work on a $2.3 million design and cost/benefit analysis project.

Assurances have been given by unit head Brendan Boyle and State Services Minister Trevor Mallard that traditional services will remain available off-line and that people will not have to join the database.

But there is concern over Government policy stating that "by June 2004, the internet will be the dominant means of enabling ready access to Government information, services and processes".

Citizens Advice Bureau chief executive Nick Toonen is concerned that the cost of using services off-line could end up being higher than online. He said Government services "should be funded out of taxes and available to everyone".

"If there is a cost it should be borne equally regardless of how you access."

Both Mallard and Boyle said what was charged for services was up to each Government department or agency.

Mallard said he expected agencies "to consider the principle of fairness when developing their pricing schedules", and pointed to Treasury guidelines that exist to help agencies set their pricing appropriately.

Toonen said he was unconvinced by statements from Mallard that people would be able to access the internet because of facilities at public libraries, schools, community groups, and internet cafes.

Mallard quoted Ministry of Economic Development research showing the number of households with computers had been increasing by an average of 12 per cent a year over the past three years.

But Toonen said many of the people who needed Government services did not have access to the internet, or literacy skills or money.

"In many cases they need to interact with a person."

Daryl Webb, director of specialist online authentication firm Digital Identity, said there would need to be access at supermarkets and the RSA, "but even putting it in homes won't work for some".

He said 25 per cent of the public would have great difficulty using it due to access issues. He estimated a "hard core" 5 per cent would intentionally avoid it and many more would due to concerns about the Government invading their privacy.

He said there was a long way to go before people would accept a single ID system, and New Zealand had yet to have a thorough public debate on the rights of the individual versus the rights of the Government.

Webb said a single Government ID increased the potential for easy inter-department data matching and NZ privacy laws did not offer adequate protection.

"Whatever they say today will not hold tomorrow as technology advances and people see the potential to use the data in different ways."

Simply updating an address between databases could cut across citizens' rights to privacy because people might not want another department knowing where they lived, said Webb.

"It's my right not to have to disclose information to any Government agency I don't want to."

Another concern Webb had was whether people would be able to delete themselves from the system. He said "opting in" could end up being a lifetime decision.

Boyle said privacy principles used in the project had been endorsed by the Government. The minimum amount of information would be kept in the database but he could not say at this stage what the information would be.

People would be able to "turn off their credentials" but it was unknown whether that meant their data would be deleted.

The authentication system will use names and passwords and involve holding sufficient information to enable identification to take place, with service-specific information remaining at each department.

Boyle said certain agencies may need to use higher levels of authentication such as digital certificates.

A summary of the public consultation and feedback used in the Government decision process is to be published online in two weeks.

E-government NZ

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