Australia should consider introducing a national identity card in the wake of the London bombings and the rise in global terrorism, Prime Minister John Howard said on Friday. Australia last debated a national ID card, called the Australia Card, in 1987. Howard, then in opposition, opposed the card, but now says times have changed.
"This is an issue that ought to be back on the table...in the wake of something like the terrible tragedy in London," Howard told a news conference ahead of a trip to Washington and London to discuss security and trade.
The British government in June took the first parliamentary step towards introducing identity cards to counter terrorism. The biometric ID cards, a world first, would use fingerprint, face and iris recognition to identify Britons.
The Australian newspaper reported on Friday that the conservative government's National Security Committee was examining whether tougher measures, including ID cards, were needed to close loopholes in counter-terrorism operations.
Australia is a staunch ally of the United States, sending troops to both Iraq and Afghanistan, and has been on medium security alert since September 11, 2001.