After its re-election in the
1984 general election, the
Labor government of
Bob Hawke held a Tax Summit in 1985. The idea of a universal ID card had been raised by certain attendees, and the government decided to implement it. They had the backing of many senior public servants, who had had such an idea in mind for some time. However, the
Liberal and
National parties in opposition were firmly against it, because they believed it could be used for more insidious purposes. They saw it as a threat to civil liberties, and said that it was a threat to privacy and that it was too open to abuse. The Opposition controlled the
Senate, and were able to block the legislation after it had passed the
House of Representatives. When the proposal was reintroduced and blocked a second time, Hawke was in a position to seek a
double dissolution from the
Governor-General, Sir
Ninian Stephen under Section 57 of the
Constitution. This was granted on 5 June 1987, and the
general election for the entire parliament was held on 11 July. The Australia Card played little part in the election campaign, but on election night, in claiming victory, Hawke said its reintroduction would be the new government's highest priority. However, Labor still lacked a majority in the Senate. Undaunted, Hawke pushed ahead with the proposal. The Constitution provides that where a double dissolution has taken place, the relevant bills may be reintroduced a third time, and if they are defeated a third time, the governor-general may agree to hold a joint sitting, which Labor would control numerically due to having won a large majority in the House. Despite the obstacles it had faced until this point, the passage of the Australia Card Bill now seemed ultimately assured. It was introduced for a third time to the House of Representatives, where it was passed on 16 September. It was introduced to the Senate the following day, and debated on 18, 21 and 23 September. At this time Ewart Smith realised the government's plan had a previously unnoticed flaw. The Australia Card Bill contained clauses that imposed penalties on businesses that failed to require a person to produce their Australia Card, or authorised the freezing of bank account and social security payments for those who did not produce one. These clauses were deemed to come into effect on "the first relevant day", and that in turn was determined by a regulation made under the Act. However, regulations require the concurrence of the Senate alone, and the Opposition-controlled Senate remained resolutely opposed to the Bill ever becoming law. Smith conveyed this reality in two letters to newspaper editors. These were read by
John Stone, a former Secretary of the Treasury who had resigned to enter politics and was elected at the July 1987 election as a National Party Senator for Queensland. Stone contacted Smith to confirm the details, advised his parliamentary colleagues, and the government was embarrassed on 23 September 1987 when asked questions in parliament that revealed they were not aware of this development. It now became irrelevant that the Bill would be passed by a joint sitting, because the Opposition would use its numbers in the Senate to indefinitely delay its practical implementation. Although the government could have sought to force the issue by having certain matters tested in the
High Court, public opinion had now come into play, and it was also decidedly against the idea of identification cards. There were what
Michael Kirby characterised as "unprecedented demonstrations of popular opposition", There was a greater number of signatories on various petitions to parliament against the Australia Card than on any previous series of related parliamentary petitions. ==Later life==