JAJ

Another Australian idea is being adopted in the UK - from 2006, all first time adult passport applicants will require a personal interview:
http://www.passports.gov.uk/press_240305.asp


Jeremy

kiwichild

Wonder if this is a response to the ongoing terrorist thing? I know machine printed passports are.

ub40fan

Sounds good to me. We should all have ID cards too. Only those with something to hide should be worried. Terrorism, identity fraud and other similar crimes need to be stopped and these measures would help.

sonictigger

Couldn't agree more....would also reduce benefit fraud....Human Right campaigners have gone mad by blocking ID cards...who are they protecting?? Not the innocent.....

JAJ

Machine readable passports appeared in the 1980s (Australia got them in 1984). I think they came in in the UK when they introduced that wretched 'Euro' format on passports around 1989/90.

However until very recently, many smaller overseas missions were still issuing non-machine readable passports (inherently less secure). The US basically forced a change in this policy by insisting that for the visa waiver program one must have a machine readable passport.

Australia, I believe, now only issues full Australian passports overseas in London and Washington DC.

For the same reasons, children on parents passports is increasingly a no-no.

Jeremy

pike

Should all have id cards with DNA printing it would solve alot of crime and sexual attacks

CPW

But for the sake of clarity, it might be worth adding that certain other overseas Australian missions accept applications for passports - it's simply that the stock of 'blank' passports is now held in only a very limited number of missions and it is those missions that actually 'produce' the passport.

JAJ

In fact a passport application can be made at any Australian mission, as far as I know, and will usually get forwarded to Washington, London or Australia for processing.

Offices other than these can still issue emergency passports to Australians.

Jeremy

bondipom

I doubt it would prevent attacks however detection afterwards maybe easier. DNA evidence is not the silver bullet many believe it to be. The costs would be astronomical which is why ID cards are currently on the backburner.

IMO The money would be better off spent researching one of the many diseases that kills many more of us than a terrorist could ever hope to achieve.

bondipom

Is the interview for ID verification?

Perthforme

I D cards didnt stop 911 ! But might help sort out other stuff like ileagal imigrants dissapearing. But guessing that if given one they will just bin it.
Back to square one !

bondipom

The 911 terrorists had visas as well. I presume you are referring to failed assylum seekers returning to the community? Not sure how ID cards would prevent that as it happens in countries with ID cards.

bondipom

I did a google search of ID card cost UK. First result was privacy international, second hit was a fake ID site.

http://www.privacy.org/pi/activities...dcard-faq.html

How much will the scheme cost the taxpayer? Somewhere between £1.5 and £3 billion over 13 years. However, the history of ID card cost estimates in other countries (notably Australia and the Philippines) has risen sharply toward the implementation stage.

Who will pay for this scheme?

We will pay for it out of our own pockets. The entitlementcard scheme could be made self-financing by increasing charges for more secure passports and driving licences, discounted over the lifetime of the card, and by charging a lower card fee for those who do not have either a driving licence or a passport.

Perthforme

Yeah from what ive read on id cards they are next to useless

bondipom

If those costs could be returned through fraud prevention then the scheme would be worth it. I think people will be very disappointed by the crime prevention capabilities. Not sure why privacy are referring to Australia.