Compulsory ID cards for Australians ruled out by PM News
Compulsory ID cards for Australians ruled out by PM

[JURIST] Australian Prime Minister John Howard [official website] said Wednesday that Australia will not implement a compulsory national identity card [press release] when he rolled out plans for a voluntary and comprehensive health and welfare card that will replace the nearly 20 other cards currently provided. Howard, who opposed a 1987 plan for an Australia Card [academic paper], said last summer that circumstances had changed in the wake of the London bombings [JURIST news archive] and that the proposal should be back on the table [JURIST report].

Britain's controversial Identity Cards Act [PDF text] was approved by parliament [JURIST report] last month, though the legislation stops short of requiring ID cards for all British citizens. The legislation had bounced back and forth between both houses of parliament with the Lords objecting to a Commons provision to effectively make the cards mandatory by requiring ID registration for all British citizens applying for passports. The bill was passed with a compromise that allows passport applicants to opt out of taking an ID card [Home Office backgrounder] until January 2010 so long as they register in a national computer database. Reuters has more. Australia's ABC News has local coverage.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Congress passed legislation establishing post-WWII national security structure

On July 25, 1947, the National Security Act of 1947 was passed, establishing a linkage between the military and national security, and setting up the National Security Council (NSC), the CIA, the Department of Defense, and several other new agencies, including the National Military Establishment with three separate departments (the Army, the Navy and the new US Air Force), and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Learn more about the National Security Act of 1947.

Brunswick Manifesto proclaimed

On July 25, 1792, the Brunswick Manifesto was proclaimed by Charles William Ferdinand, the Duke of Brunswick during the French Revolutionary Wars. As leader of the forces allied against France, Ferdinand promised retribution against the citizens of Paris if the French Royal Family was harmed. Instead, the Manifesto further inflamed anti-royal sentiment in Paris.