Identity card threatens to split Coalition

The push for a national identity card threatens to cause more splits in the Government than the mandatory detention brawl after the Prime Minister, John Howard, said the card could be a new weapon against terrorism.

Some Coalition MPs said yesterday the card might cause fresh divisions in the Government's ranks, while the question of embedding fingerprints in the cards could add a volatile new dimension to the debate.

Speaking in Washington, Mr Howard said a national identity card should be debated in the wake of the London bombings, which have claimed 55 lives, including Australian Sam Ly.

He said the world was a very different place from the one in which the Australia Card had been rejected in the 1980s.

His words follow Britain's announcement that it plans tough new anti-terrorism laws.

While it could be argued that forcing people to declare more personal details affected their rights, Mr Howard said "you have to put that against the right all of us have to expect of our government that it takes all reasonable measures to protect us against the behaviour of terrorists".

"It's a balance. Any democratic society requires a constant readjustment of that balance."

The Immigration Minister, Amanda Vanstone - whose department was criticised last week by the Palmer inquiry for its treatment of Australians Cornelia Rau and Vivian Alvarez - said ID cards needed "biometric" data, such as a fingerprint, to be effective.

The Government is already developing new passports that will, from October, use face recognition technology. But some Liberals said the proposed ID card would cause concern among Government MPs.

"If it were to be pushed within the Government, it would attract a great deal of resistance," said one backbencher. "It will probably engage a broader constituency within the party, including conservatives, than were engaged in terms of critiquing the earlier national security [measures]."

Asked if it would be more contentious than the bruising mandatory detention brawl, he said "absolutely". That fight, initiated by four Government MPs, has resulted in the announcement that all children held in immigration detention camps are to be released.

Another backbencher said he was not personally opposed to the idea, but there would be concern within the party. A third said it would be "a matter of great debate", while a fourth was worried about fingerprints being embedded in the card.

"You can always change your password but if I nick your fingerprint or your DNA, you've got a real problem there," he said.

However, Senator Vanstone said: "My own view is if you don't have a biometric encased in the card digitally - for example, a fingerprint - then the card can simply be used by someone else."

Liberal MP Sharman Stone said the public had moved on from the days of the Australia Card, and seemed "quite comfortable with carrying cards in their wallets which identify them" for purposes as simple as renting a video.

Mr Howard said the card should not be seen as a solution but "maybe it is one of the things that is needed to be added to our armoury".