Ewart Smith
| Ewart Smith | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1920 Sydney |
| Died | 10 September 1991 (aged 71) |
| Occupation | Public servant and campaigner |
| Spouse(s) | Janet |
| Children | Three |
Ewart Smith OBE (1920–1991) was an Australian public servant. He was little known to the public during his working life, but in retirement he played a very significant role in the demise of the Australia Card proposal in 1987.
Ewart Smith was a medallist at the University of Sydney, graduating with first-class honours in Law. On joining the Commonwealth Public Service, his experience was in the Department of External Territories, the Crown Solicitor's Office and legislative drafting both in Australia and Papua New Guinea. He rose to become a Deputy Secretary of the Attorney-General's Department, leaving the role in 1980 to join the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, from which he retired in 1987.
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. The government introduced a law instituting the Australia Card. The general public seemed little troubled by it, as it was portrayed as a means to stop cheating on tax and welfare payments. 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.
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