DIGITAL IDENTITY ANNOUNCEMENT – BETTER LATE THAN NEVER

"Reports the Albanese Government is finally getting on with the Coalition’s work to implement a national digital identity scheme are welcome. It’s better late than never," Shadow Minister for Government Services and the Digital Economy, Paul Fletcher said today.

"But it shouldn’t have taken two of the biggest hacking and identity theft episodes in Australian history to embarrass the government into getting on with the job.

"We also welcome reports that the scheme would allow businesses to take part, giving Australians a choice about how they confirm their identity. It has always been part of the Coalition’s design principle that there would be a range of Trusted Digital Identity Providers and Australians could choose which one to use.

"The Coalition remains concerned that responsibility for the digital identity scheme rests with the Finance Minister rather than the Minister for Government Services.

"Such a confusion and overlap of responsibilities makes it less likely that the scheme will be successfully delivered.

"We know from the history of digital service delivery, both at Commonwealth and State level, that Chief Information Officers in individual agencies jealously guard their turf. Overcoming this requires very strong top-level political commitment.

"The success of Service NSW goes back to the strong commitment of Premier Gladys Berejikilian and the outstanding leadership of Minister Victor Dominello. Similarly, under the Morrison Government, there was strong backing and commitment from Prime Minister Morrison and Minister Stuart Robert.

"Regrettably, such commitment is lacking under the Albanese Labor Government. Not only are accountabilities unclear and overlapping, we rarely hear any mention of digital service delivery from either Prime Minister Albanese or Government Services Minister, Bill Shorten.

"I call on the government to state clearly when legislation for the scheme will be released for consultation and then introduced to the Parliament. We’ve already had to wait nine months. This delay must not be allowed to continue."