Smartcard? O RLY.

I don't know if anyone has been following the access card drama lately, but from what I have read and heard, I can't say I feel all that comfortable with it. It aims to smoosh 17 cards (Centrelink, Veterans, Medicare etc etc) onto one card that will contain your photo, digital signature, unique access card number and a variety of other things. It is completely optional, in the sense that if you want to ever use Medicare or Centrelink, you have to get it.

My concern is, though, that they also want to keep scanned copies of your birth certificate together with all this lovely information in one central location. The argument advanced is pretty much one of convenience. However, it totally ignores the basic rules of information security: don't keep all your eggs in one basket. Why does the government need a scanned copy of my birth certificate? The state births registry has it already. Some law enforcement organisations have already expressed an interest in getting access to the registry too. I am a law-abiding citizen, but even so, I am distrustful of a government doing things because it makes it more convenient for them to keep tabs on me.

If you're interested in reading more, the Senate inquiry transcripts can be found here and make for interesting reading.

*dons tinfoil hat*

Centrelink In Bed With You

I want to talk about the concept of governance. Governance, in my not-so-humble opinion, is based on the idea of the social contract. I give up some of my rights, and the government does things for me like keep me safe from fictional terrorist attacks (cheap shot, I know).

But where does that line get drawn? When does the government become unreasonable in its demands--or, more appropriately, why the fuck do the sheeple let the government become so unreasonable in its demands? It seems to me that society as a whole has forgotten that the government can only govern at the will of the governed. It should not be the case that the governed are at the mercy of the government.

I apologise for the rant that now follows.

What brought this on? Oh, many things, but one thing in particular. A good friend of mine lives with two women and another man in a big old house. Today he tells me that he received a letter from Centrelink asking a lot of personal questions about his relationship with one of the female housemates. My friend doesn't receive any benefits; one of the female housemates does. Because they have been housemates for a while, Centrelink have decided they are clearly in a relationship (what they think of the other two people in the house, who knows).

My good friend is gay. Really, really gay. And yet he has to fill out a ten-page form--including details of his sex life--so that the government can be told that he is not sleeping with his housemate so that she can continue getting her student payments. Thank God they didn't get the search and seizure powers they wanted. I can't blame him for not wanting to write in big letters on the form 'I'M GAY'--which probably would not be enough for them anyway, but still not something I'm sure I'd want the government noting on file--but the government is effectively going all When Harry Met Sally and suggesting that men and women who live together must surely be fucking.

Not even touching on the questions of discrimination (do they send these letters to people in long-term male/male or female/female flatmate arrangements?), the government has no right to demand you fill out a form with such intimate details in order to disprove some crazy idea Centrelink have in their heads. If he doesn't fill it out, she loses her payment. If he doesn't fill it out, he can face legal consequences. The burden of proof is on him and his housemate to prove they're not in a marriage-like relationship, and not on Centrelink where it belongs.

The government has no right to ask who you are fucking unless you are fucking animals, family members or little kids. When are we going to stop letting those who govern at our pleasure invade our private lives--our bedrooms--with this rubbish?

*taps mic*

Is this thing on?

I have wanted to have an intelligent and thoughtful* blog about all things Australian and political for some time. I have opinions--sometimes even informed ones--and I can write, so why not? In fact, I'm pretty sure that was the whole point of my liberal arts degree (and perhaps the opposite of the point of the time I spent studying law). So, here it is: Ruby Wednesday.

I actually wanted to imply that I was a day behind Ruby Tuesday. What's behind Tuesday, I thought to myself? Wednesday! Well, clearly you can tell I've had a long week at work because the answer is not Wednesday, but Monday. Now I'm a day ahead (or six days behind) Ruby Tuesday. I also didn't realise there was an Eskimo Joe song by the same name. I guess I should have just fucking googled it.

Politically, I am a mixed bag. I am a recent arrival to Canberra from the Banana Republic. While I am no fan of Howard's, I also think that the state Labor governments have royally fucked a lot of things up. I'm an equal opportunity whinger. I doubt anyone will read this--it's more for my own personal satisfaction--but, if you do, I hope you enjoy what follows.

Ruby

P.S. I am not a huge fan of pink and red, but this blog does have Ruby in the title and my HTML skillz are woeful. Apologies for the layout.

*note optimism