Action Over Surveillance Needed
17 April 07 Media Release Please forward
Contact:
A Super Gold Card, Micro-Chips &
State and Private Corporate Surveillance of NZ
Citizens
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Quote:
the state of political and corporate surveillance of UK
citizens [New Zealand is close behind].
"Up until now
the best ally of governments and big corporations who wish
to place every individual under total and unwavering
surveillance has always been ignorance.
Surveillance and
its potential for diminishing the human experience and
robbing individuals of political power is one of the most
pressing issues of our time. We stand on the boundary
between two societies - one where freedom and privacy are
the norm; the other in which our movements, habits and
transactions are monitored for signs of aberrant behaviour.
Let there be no misunderstanding: the surveillance society
is one that necessarily reduces us all from citizens to
subjects." ¦ Henry Porter [editor: Vanity Fair]. Friday
November 3, 2006 The Guardian ...
______________________________________________________________________________________
Quote,
November, 2006 [source: unverified] HUMAN MICROCHIPPING in
the UK
"..Britain's Information Commissioner, Richard Thomas, published an official report into the use of surveillance technology that warns that people may be forced to be microchipped 'like pet dogs' to track their movements and store personal information which, of course, would no longer be personal to anyone with a chip reader.' _______________________________________________________________________________
A NZ Super Gold Card, Micro-Chips & State and Private Corporate Surveillance of NZ Citizens
by Elaine West 17.04.07
Below are 15 reasons why you need to immediately
contact the Chair of the Social Services Committee, Russell
Fairbrother (MP), the PM Helen Clark, and the Winston Peters
(MP) and political parties to -
• demand the removal of
Clause 4 from the Social Security (Entitlement Cards)
Amendment Bill that is currently before the House.
Email: russell.fairbrother@parliament.govt.nz
(Helen Clark) pm@ministers.govt.nz (Winston Peters)
w.peters@ministers.govt.nz
1. All people - including senior citizens - must be treated with dignity under the Human Rights Charter. New Zealand senior citizens built our public infrastructure and services by the sweat of their brow. We have a moral obligation to ensure that older people and veteran's enjoy an enhanced quality of life befitting their valued status in society. The potential to implant a digital photograph and embed a microchip on the Gold Card for information-sharing is an affront to senior citizens and veteran's privacy, human rights and civil rights. If Clause 4 is not deleted from the Bill, then we can expect that in due course, a New Zealand Citizen's Identification Card (with photograph and microchip) will be the norm.
2. Every New Zealand citizen, political party, social organisation; worker, child advocate, human rights advocate and civil rights proponent must act now to prevent critical amendments in law that will negatively impact each person's - democratic rights, privacy rights, human rights and civil rights.
3. The Amendments to the Social Security Act 1964 will currently affect 540,000 people aged 65-plus, and another 15,000 people who are below that age who will also be entitled to the Super Gold Card [the Gold Card].
The Gold Card will entitle senior citizens access to discounts from participating businesses or government and local government services. It will indicate "eligibility to Government entitlements such as New Zealand Superannuation and Veteran's Pensions. It will replace the Community Card for seniors and the New Zealand Super Card."
4. There
is provision in the Social Security (Entitlement Cards) Bill
under Clause 4 to -
a) create regulation-making powers
for
• Cardholder photographs on entitlement
cards, and
• Microchips embedded in
entitlement cards.
5. Regulation-making
Powers
Parliamentarians including the Select Committee do
not know the meaning of - "regulation-making powers." Yet
this term will pass into law on 15 May 2007.
This is my interpretation. Regulation-making powers will consist of state agencies, and private agencies - effectively made up of private corporations including transnational corporations - who will decide when and how smart card technology - including microchips - will be introduced and utilised.
6. Cardholder Photographs
Clause 5 (1) provides for
cardholders photographs on entitlement cards. Photographs
will not be compulsory, at present.
7. Microchips
Embedded on Cards
Clause 5 (2) provides for a microchip
embedded in the cards. The Government has not planned for
this, at present.
When the UK politicians introduced
imprinted photography and embedded microchips, the public
were given the option of smart card technology on their
personal card.
Later, the British Government changed its
mind and smart card technology (photographs and microchips)
were made compulsory items on personal cards.
At present, Britain's Information Commissioner, Richard Thomas is warning the public that human bar-coding technology (microchipping) is less than ten years away.
8.
Corporations are Already Tendering for NZ's Gold Card
Customers
The Gold Card is a loyalty card. If customers
shop at a particular place then they will receive a discount
or concession.
9. Therapeutic Products and Medicines
Bill
Given that senior citizens need on-going health
care, is this the reason why the Therapeutic Products and
Medicines Bill was tabled in Parliament late last year?
It would seem that Government is cutting the Gold Card market competition, that is - an official coalition with petroleum/pharmaceutical corporations is effectively wiping the natural health therapy and products from the New Zealand market.
10. Local Government Reform: The Greater
Auckland Council
The Auckland Mayoral Forum is pressing
central Government to get the Greater Auckland Council
up-and-running before this year's local body elections,
which the Government has indicated it will do by July
2007.
The Greater Auckland Council will see enormous
power in the hands of private corporations and a few elected
representatives.
The Council advocates wish to control
public funds, public infrastructure and services including
water, roads, libraries, museums, parks, housing, the
justice system, and so on.
• Direct User Charges is the
mantra of the Auckland Mayoral Forum and the likely Greater
Auckland Council.
• To rapidly create a Direct User
Charges society, the introduction of a New Zealand ID Card
with an imprinted photograph and microchip, becomes a
probability.
11. Road Reform - tolls on NZ's Roads &
Micro-chips
Both the Labour-led Government and the
National Opposition want to toll New Zealand roads in league
with corporate partners (PPPs), the point of political
difference being - that the National Party will set up five
or six Road Companies with the Crown acting as the
shareholder.
The aim of Road Reform is to charge every road user for their use of the road - pedestrians, cyclists, motorists, and utility providers (gas, water pipes, electricity lines etc), and police charges.
• A Gold Card with a microchip will enable senior citizens to pay direct user charges. If citizens walk on a road, then a toll may apply.
12. Toll Road Operator: Kapsch
TrafficCom AB - [Transponders and On-board
Units]
Information gained under the Official Information
Act (OIA) shows that central Government (Transit) has
already engaged Kapsch TrafficCom AB to provide road side
equipment and provide operational services. Kapsch have set
up a New Zealand business (see: www.kapsch.se)
13. Overall, the Super Gold Card appears as the first step towards a New Zealand Citizen ID Card that will be embedded with a microchip. Smart card technology will then enable the Government and private corporations to charge individuals for using public infrastructure and public services eg. schooling, medical care/hospitals, road use, library use, etc. Information-sharing will be difficult if not impossible, to monitor effectively.
14.
Predicted Political Constraints Placed on New Zealand
Citizens When Micro-chipping becomes the Norm
Loss:
Democratic Rights
Loss: Privacy Rights,
information-sharing on a global scale. According to Porter
(UK, Editor, Vanity Fair) , DNA samples are lost all around
the world.
Loss: Human Rights and Civil Rights
• Freedom of Speech
• Freedom of Movement
• Freedom of Association
• and so on.
The Social Security (Entitlement Cards) Amendment Bill has passed its first reading. It should not go further unless Clause 4 is deleted from the Bill (refer to the introduction).
It is up to New Zealanders of all ages and all walks of life, to decide what sort of society they want to live in and what sort of future they want for their children.
Time is of the essence and action must be taken now.
ENDS
cc Helen Clark, Winston Peters,
Politcal Parties, Unions, Citizens, Grey Power, 60s Up
Movement, ARENA, Relgious Groups, Ratepayer Groups,
RAM-Resident Action Movement, CAP-Citizens Against
Privatisation, Auckland District Law Society, NZ Law
Society, Workers Charter, Charities, NZ Regional Councils,
Auckland Local Authorities, NZ Council for Civil Liberties,
Child Poverty Action Group, NZEI, PPTA, PSA, Amnesty
International, Human Rights advocates, Global Peace and
Justice, Association of University Staff, NZ Univerity
Students Association, Human Rights Commission, Greenpeace,
Poverty Action Group, Human Rights Foundation, Office of the
Privacy Commission, Children's Commission.
To view
the
Social Security (Entitlement Cards) Amendment Bill go
to
www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/PB/Legislation/Bills
Ends