My words are strictly off the record

Melbourne Herald Sun, Friday December 14, 2012 

From a nearby office I hear the booming voice of my colleague: "No, I don't want you to record my call. Turn the thing off."

Moment's silence. "What do you mean you can't turn it off? Call your supervisor and get him to do it!"

I can't help feeling sorry for the call centre operator, though I sympathise with the stand. Why do they need to have everything recorded these days?

Of course you are told in the monotonous recorded message that "calls will be recorded for training or coaching purposes". But how many examples of a bad customer to operator exchange do they need?

When I looked at what industry insiders say, it's a bit different. "I was talking to my manager about a call I had yesterday. I took about 50 yesterday but only 4 were recorded." Most of them just disappear into the ether.

The Australian Information Commissioner says: "An organisation must tell you at the beginning of the conversation so that you have the chance either to end the call, or to ask to be transferred to a line where monitoring does not take place.:"

There are some areas where you'll have an argument getting the recorder turned off. For example, stockbrokers want to get instructions recorded - they happen quickly and a misunderstanding could become a million-dollar law suit. Bookmakers record too, for the same reason. Of course emergency services also need to closely monitor all exchanges, as we have learned in several major cases involving fires, ambulances and police, recently.

However, do you need to record every ordinary phone enquiry? I don't think so. What are the limits of privacy?

A topic that flares up periodically is the so-called Australia Card. Back in 1985 the Hawke government introduced a card which would carry a person's basic information. It was fiercely opposed by the Coalition opposition in the Senate and finally got buried as a topic.

That is, until six years ago when the Coalition introduced the idea, using an expanded Medicare card - and were faced with fierce opposition from the Labor Party and minorities. After a year of tussle it was re-interred with the 2007 election.

Ironically we have all that information on free display anyway. Your driver's licence gives your name, photo, address, date of birth, signature, and eye-sight condition. All they need to add is your tax-file number to give them more than would have been on your Australia card in the first place.

Then there is the argument of trying to overcome privacy restrictions. A friend needed a separate phone line to his office. Being in a hurry he asked his associate to fix it. All went well till the associate died. Could they arrange for the line to be transferred to my friend? Not till the renter permitted. But he's dead. Then where's his death certificate? We don't have one.... The argument continues - meanwhile the dear departed is regularly fined for not paying his phone bills.

So these privacy regulations can end up being yet another bureaucratic obstacle in our path - you can't ask any questions at the bank about your spouse's account, you can't talk to the gas company or electricity supplier unless your name is on the account. The university wouldn't talk to me about my children's progress.

This is all done for good reasons, but at the time it feels like yet more red tape around us.

You can't even enquire at the hospital about a relative's well-being - unless you are the Queen calling about your daughter-in-law's health. And just see what trouble that can lead to.

ray@ebeatty.com