2006
ID cards may be hugely beneficial - UK expert
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27 February 2006
The introduction of identification (ID) cards to Australia would offer enormous benefits to taxpayers, business, government and travellers alike, according to Michael O’Higgins, member of PA Consulting Group’s International Board and Head of PA’s Government Services Group.
PA Consulting Group, an independent, global, multi-disciplinary management, systems and technology consulting firm, was appointed by the UK Home Secretary in 2004 to work with government in developing a national Identity Cards scheme.
Mr O’Higgins said that through the design, feasibility testing, business case and procurement elements of the programme, he has been convinced of the significant multi-stakeholder benefits associated with a national ID card.“The benefits are multi-faceted, addressing the needs and increasing efficiencies across the tax system, business sector, government and in travel and tourism.”
Mr O’Higgins said that the introduction of ID cards in Australia would bring the following benefits:
- Taxpayer – greater protection against ID fraud and racking up unwanted debts against individuals' names and increased efficiencies in individual dealings with public and private entities eg opening a bank account.
- Business – curtailing losses incurred through ID fraud and the associated ease of management regarding compliance eg the ability for authorities to clamp down on ‘sweatshops’
- Government – cuts out administrative fraud translating into massive long-term savings for the taxpayer. Plus, can be used effectively in counter-terrorism and policing measures.
- Travellers – visa applications expedited and increased efficiency on entering foreign countries. In addition, ID cards can support the halting of granting of visas to those who have fraudulently eluded national identification, and can cut down on unnecessary discrimination in the issuing of visas.
Mr O’Higgins maintains that, for the introduction of any ID card scheme in Australia to work, it should be introduced incrementally over a number of years.
“Much of that work should first focus on feasibility and testing in order to reduce the risks and increase success.
“The number one public issue when ID cards were first announced in the UK was privacy. Over the years this has steadily slipped down the rankings of importance as people increasingly realise that there really is not much information that is genuinely private anyway, and as they are educated about the fact that we are not necessarily talking about one stand-alone ID card.
“The choice ultimately should rest with the consumer and they might in fact have a situation where they choose from a number of cards such as a health card, a bank card, an education card and the like. The critical factor is that they all relate to a central identification system.
“The central ID bank would be where the individual’s biometric identification checks are held. These might include things such as fingerprints, eye scans and facial feature mapping.
“Ultimately it is these measures that will protect individuals against rampant ID fraud but equally importantly, make all our lives easier when applying for finance, travel visas and other areas where identification is required,” Mr O’Higgins concluded.
Mr O’Higgins has 25 years' international experience of consulting on public policy strategy, information systems and change management across the European Union, Hungary, Hong Kong, Turkey and Poland. His current and recent client assignments are focused on e-business and public service modernisation and he leads the team working with the UK government on the global roll-out of biometric visas for the UK.
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Michael O’Higgins' biography
Michael is a member of the International Board of PA Consulting Group and heads its overall Government Consulting Group and its Health consulting practice. He has 25 years' international experience of consultancy on public policy strategy, information systems and change management.
His clients in the UK have included most major government departments, as well as bodies such as the Youth Justice Board and local and health authorities. He has also led major assignments throughout the European Union, in Hungary, Hong Kong, Turkey and Poland, working both for governments and for international organisations such as the World Bank.
He is currently chairing the External Panel advising the UK Minister of Health on Commissioning a Patient-Led NHS, which is the restructuring intended to distinguish the commissioning from the provision of health care in order, among other things, to shift resources from hospital to community provision. Last year he chaired the Review of Research Ethics Committees in the health service, again on behalf of the Minister for Health.
His current and recent client assignments are focused on e-business and public service modernisation, both across government and in individual departments. In particular, he is leading the team working with UKvisas on the global roll-out of biometric visas for the UK.
Prior to joining PA in January 1997, Michael had been a partner in the consultancy division of Price Waterhouse. Before that he worked at the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) in Paris (where he wrote The Future of Social Protection) and held academic appointments at Harvard, Bath and the Australian National Universities. He was also a specialist adviser to the House of Commons Select Committee for Health and Social Security during the 1980s and a Visiting Professor of Social Policy at the London School of Economics during the 1990s.
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