What Australian newspapers say April 30, 2002
SYDNEY, April 30 AAP - Australia has everything to gain from a true free trade agreementwith Japan, even if implemented in stages, The Sydney Morning Herald says in its editorialtoday.
But as Trade Minister Mark Vaile notes, if agriculture was excluded, it would not bea free trade agreement.
The stated desire of Japan's Prime Minister for a free trade agreement is welcome,the newspaper says, but his capacity to deliver one must be considered.
"Australia's interests may well continue to be best served by pressing for a multilateralagreement at the World Trade Organisation."
The Courier-Mail says work to secure free trade agreements with Australia's two biggestexport customers, the US and Japan, appears to have progressed.
"The seeming progress on these fronts ought to relieve Australian exporters, particularlyprimary producers, who too often have been denied unfettered access to Japan and the USbecause of political self-interest in those countries," the newspaper says.
Such agreements are Australia's best insurance against the protectionist sentimentsof short-sighted politicians, it says.
However, all parties needed to conduct negotiations in good faith.
The closure of mental asylums and moving patients back into the community has solvedthe problem of abuse and neglect that became a feature of so many of the centres, TheAustralian says.
It also delivered significant cost savings to the government.
"But the mentally ill, and society as a whole, have lost out because the replacementsupport services have been woefully inadequate," it says.
"The personal, social and financial burden has been shifted to families and other areashas been shifted to families and other areas of the health, community services and criminaljustice systems."
The call for a national inquiry into the state of mental health services in Australiashould be heeded, the newspaper says.
The Courier-Mail says work to secure free trade agreements with Australia's two biggestexport customers, the US and Japan, appears to have progressed.
"The seeming progress on these fronts ought to relieve Australian exporters, particularlyprimary producers, who too often have been denied unfettered access to Japan and the USbecause of political self-interest in those countries," the newspaper says.
Such agreements are Australia's best insurance against the protectionist sentimentsof short-sighted politicians, it says.
However, all parties needed to conduct negotiations in good faith.
The Daily Telegraph says except for police or the armed forces, nobody truly need a handgun.
So their import should be banned unless designated for these forces, it says.
And while at it, a national campaign should be started to outlaw the ownership of handguns.
If one life is saved, the inconvenience to a few would be a trifling price to pay, it says.
Protection of workers' entitlements is a worthy goal but the Commonwealth scheme nowsubstantially achieves it, The Australian Financial Review says.
The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) has rejected exhaust-maker WalkerAustralia's offer to submit any outstanding issues to immediate arbitration.
This suggests it is more concerned with forcing manufacturers to contribute to itsManusafe fund than with protecting its members, the newspaper says.
The privacy commissioner cannot hope to keep an effective watch on the use of phonecompany records unless given extra resources and powers, the Herald Sun says.
The need for a new, independent watchdog is imperative, it says.
"Details of your phone records, who you phone and for how long are routinely handedover with few questions by companies to police and bureaucrats.
"But there is no effective accountability covering the motives of bureaucrats or policeseeking phone billing details.
"Human nature being what it is, there is room for abuse."
The medical indemnity crisis, highlighted by the demise of United Medical Protection,is a crucial health issue and the federal government must carry much responsibility forfinding a solution, says The Age.
The newspaper says rising premiums have already meant bad news for patients and thesituation would only worsen with UMP's collapse.
"The federal government should examine Victoria's successful mediation system, whichhas diverted many cases from the courts," it says.
Unhappily, ordinary Australians - either as taxpayers or consumers - will end up bearingthe brunt of the costs of the solution arrived at, it says."
Australia's sex discrimination commissioner, Pru Goward, has advanced the issue ofpaid maternity leave well beyond that of a topic simmering under the surface, The Advertisersays.
Paid maternity leave should not be seen as a maternal bludge, it says.
"Working women know motherhood is a synonym for sacrifice and, as mothers, are makingthe most direct of investments in Australia's future.
"Our challenge is to consider it while avoiding additional imposts on business or the taxpayer.
AAP rs
KEYWORD: EDITORIALS
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