E-government provides a special and complex use case for identity management systems, first because the needs of some parts of the government (such as law enforcement and national security) are often at odds with the service-oriented aspects of government, and second because of the unique role government plays in the life of the citizen. The blurring of responsibility and accountability might facilitate this: e-government identity management systems aren't straightforward to implement. Culture and history strongly affect the nature of the identity management system that might be acceptable to citizens in particular circumstances, with levels of trust in government being a key factor. In this article, the authors discuss these issues, present an e-government use case from New Zealand, and describe how the New Zealand implementation differs from several other identity management systems around the globe.