Nick Xenophon to boycott revealing his name on census
Independent Senator Nick Xenophon has declared he will not be putting his name down on his census amid privacy concerns.
The South Australian Senator is prepared to fight any fines he incurs as a result of not properly filling out the form.
The five-yearly nationwide census is estimated to be completed online by more than 15 million people tonight.
In this year’s census, the government will retain names and addresses for four years, instead of 18 months, as was previously the case.
“This census goes further than any other census before since the first census on the 2nd of April, 1911,” Senator Xenophon said on The TODAY Show.
“There’s never been a proper privacy assessment of this.
“No census links data in this way, no census has ever kept our names and details for four years.”
People who choose to withhold their names on tonight’s census, or do not complete the census, could be fined $180 per day for an unlimited amount of days.
Mr Xenophon said he’d “rather not pay any fine” but believes he needs to fight the census to create a legal “test case”.
When questioned about paying a potential $65,700 fine if he lasts a year without conceding to census demands, he admitted it was a "fair whack of money".
“What I find objectionable, is that we have never had a debate about this in this country,” he said
“Remove the compulsion.”
Former Deputy Privacy Commissioner, Anna Johnson, wrote in the Sydney Morning Herald she would be boycotting the census as well.
“I have wrestled with what my personal position should be,” she wrote.
“But as a former deputy privacy commissioner, and a privacy consultant for the past 12 years, I can also see the privacy risks in what the ABS is doing.”
The head of the census has promised Australians their personal data will be subject to the highest security.
Asked on ABC radio how far she would take her protest - which could cost her $180 a day - Ms Johnson said "let's just say I got an email from my accountant asking me the same question".
"I'm hoping it doesn't come to that. I'm hoping the ABS changes its decision."
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