If it quacks like a duck ...

Here’s a riddle.
The AGPN’s for it, the AMA says it’s full of holes. The RACGP’s keeping fairly mum about it. What is it?
Yes, the Access Card, aka an identity card, an iPod or according to Joe Hockey, a place to put your shopping list.
Currently before parliament, the controversial legislation arouses strong emotions on both sides. For some, the mere thought of a unique identifying number for every individual is anathema, but unless the card is canned, this will be the case – although whether the number is printed on the card or on the chip inside is still under debate.
For a transcript of an excellent ABC radio program on the card, click here.
A major and legitimate fear is ‘function creep’, described on the program by Professor Alan Fels, head of the government’s Access Card task force, as a card set up for a particular purpose acquiring many other functions over time.
For example, the UK ID card set up in 1939 with three particular purposes, including to prove the owner wasn’t German, had 39 functions when it was abolished in 1951. For this reason, AMA President Mukesh Hakerwal, says the purposes of the card must be specified in the legislation.
The touted advantage of people entering their own medical details on the card seems to me a furphy; I can’t imagine it’ll really allow doctors to skip a group and cross-match, for example.
The under 18 issue is confusing. While the Department of Human Services says “what occurs today will occur with the access card”, the AMA’s still got its knickers in a knot.
And let’s not waste words on whether the card is voluntary, in reality it isn’t. there’s also little doubt that at some stage a clever hacker will get data they shouldn’t have.
Finally, the justification for including place of birth completely eludes me.
Apart from all of the above, the card sounds like a good idea!