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Identity Cards Bill

While I think that on the one hand this provision ought to be unnecessary because it should go without saying, on the other hand, given that subsection (3)(b) refers to ““secure and reliable””, logically such a provision should go along with it. If you are going to say that, you may as well say this as well, simply to dot the i’s and cross the t’s. I feel that both provisions are aspirational rather than things to be put into legislation. This reminds me of a period in the 1960s. I recall my father’s muttered response to a declaration made by Perth county council that the area around the house was a ““rabbit-free zone””: ““They have as much hope of that succeeding as anything else””. It is a good idea and perhaps it should be put in the Bill so that people can scream about it. A lot can be done. The credit checking agencies which keep highly sensitive information on people have a good record of monitoring the behaviour of employees, firing them immediately if someone in the snooper division detects any malfeasance. I do not know whether in the public sector one can behave in such a draconian way. I hope that one would. It is good to have such a provision. We need to ensure that police within the police are policing the entire system.