FED:Editorials Thursday, 10 February, 2011

AAP General News (Australia)
02-10-2011
FED:Editorials Thursday, 10 February, 2011

SYDNEY, Feb 10 AAP - On Thursday The Australian says the government is right to talk
about the nation-building aspect of improved national broadband access because it is crucial
to address Australia's tyranny of distance. But this historical imperative is all the
more reason Labor should stop and rethink its single-technology, public-monopoly model.

The National Broadband Network could impose heavy costs, high risks and minimal flexibility
on the public.

Governments of all persuasions spent much of the past two decades extricating themselves
from non-core businesses, so it seems counter-intuitive to be risking vast amounts of
public money to buy back in. Now that financial priorities are being revisited in the
wake of our summer of disasters, there could be no better time for the Prime Minister
to demand a reassessment of the NBN.

The Oz's second editorial says for decades, the teaching profession has been hampered
by rigid workplace structures that failed to reward the best teachers and provided little
incentive for them to remain in the classroom. After a certain period, the only pathway
to more money was to move into administration or leave the profession. Consequently, high
attrition rates have created serious shortages of teachers in some subjects and weakened
learning. If well implemented, however, the national standards for registering teachers
released by education ministers yesterday will do much to improve career paths and students'
learning.



The Sydney Morning Herald today says we have met our obligations under the ANZUS Treaty.

When the United States was attacked, we stood by it and put our own soldiers' lives in
harm's way. But that was almost a decade ago. The average Australian knows that if the
Afghans cannot defend themselves after 10 years and billions of dollars of foreign military
aid, they are unlikely to be so able in 20 or even 30 years. There is no support for a
military operation of that duration in this country. It is just too easy for our politicians
to hide behind homilies and breast-beating because they lack the courage to discuss unpalatable
truths.

Defence is prudent to plan for withdrawal. With every passing month, the current level
of Australia's commitment becomes harder to justify and sustain.

In its second editorial the SMH says the NSW treasurer, Eric Roozendaal, wants to quibble
with costings of Labor's so-called ''Fairness for Families'' package published in the
Herald based on modelling by the National Centre for Economic and Social Modelling. To
which we respond with this challenge: we've shown you ours, now you show us yours.

Sydney's The Daily Telegraph on Thursday says if the Australian health system was a
patient, it would be completely confused by a blizzard of confusing and conflicting diagnoses.

Previously, the system was going to be cured by mandatory four-hour waiting time targets
for hospital emergency wards. That was the prescription from Dr Federal Government, in
any case.

But now Canberra is prepared to abandon that treatment in a bid to lure all states
into agreement on national health reform.

In fact, this may not be such a loss.

The Tele in its second editorial says hard cases make bad law, according to an old
legal saying. In other words, cases that are exceptionally complicated or problematic
are a poor basis for more general legal rulings.

The issue of child sex cases should not fall into this category, but that seems to
be the fear of some authorities who are now deliberately avoiding prosecution in certain
child sex crimes.

Their reasoning is that, in some examples, such crimes are tough to prosecute due to
consent given by the minor party.

In its final editorial the Tele says Bon Jovi rocks. Which is just as well, because
the vintage New Jersey band is taking on the most coveted assignment in Australian music
by becoming the official rockers of the NRL.



Nothing is more urgent for the Ted Baillieu led Victorian government than to inject
money and resources towards saving at risk children, the Herald Sun says in its main editorial
on Thursday.

The newspaper made the comments in a discussion about an Ombudsman's findings that
police and Corrections Victoria failed to notify the Department of Human Services that
sex offenders were in contact with hundreds of children.

"What does it take to make the government and Victoria Police to act in these circumstances?"

the newspaper asked.

"It said the Baillieu government must consider the reorganisation of a "department in collapse".

"Money and resources must be put into saving the lives of children at risk. Nothing
is more urgent," the paper said.

It said it was not enough for welfare agencies and police to say they are without the
resources to combat child abuse.



Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu must find a way to make a rail link to Melbourne Airport
viable, The Age says in its main editorial on Thursday.

The newspaper said Melbourne Airport makes $103.9 million per year from parking fees,
more than Australia's busiest airport in Sydney.

"Sydney Airport at least has rail access, whereas anyone who travels the 22 kilometres
from Melbourne to its airport - passengers, their friends and families, and airport and
airline staff - must use the increasingly congested Tullamarine Freeway," The Age said.

It said Melbourne was one of the few cities of its size in the world that did not have
a direct rail connection from the CBD to the airport.

The Baillieu government is not the first to win office holding out the prospect of
an airport rail link, the newspaper said.

The Bracks Labor government promised a rail link to the airport in 1999 but abandoned
the plan in 2002.

"Six shelved plans for a rail link in nearly 50 years are enough," The Age said.

"The Baillieu government must find a way to make the much-postponed link
viable."



Brisbane's The Courier Mail on Thursday says in this week's debate no one sought to
promote their own efforts, preferring to tell the stories of those who suffered and were
affected. There was no partisan advantage sought, even though Tony Abbott could have chosen
another day than Tuesday to prosecute his case against the modest and necessary flood
levy.

It was our politicians, if not at their best, certainly aiming for a higher standard
and showing a better face. Our adversarial system requires argument and debate but it
is good to see that at times of national calamity and grief parliamentarians can come
together and reflect the mood and lot of the people.



AAP ees/jfm

KEYWORD: EDITORIALS

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