What Australian newspapers say on Saturday, August 5, 2006

AAP General News (Australia)
08-05-2006
What Australian newspapers say on Saturday, August 5, 2006

SYDNEY, Aug 5 AAP - Rising interest rates may hurt, but the opportunity exists to harness
the current boom and transform Australia and it must not be missed, The Weekend Australian
says in its editorial today.

The past 14 years of economic growth has allowed Australians to become more financially
confident and more entrepreneurial, yet the nation imports more than $50 billion in foreign
capital each year.

Living beyond our means is fine if this investment pays off, but in the meantime it
demands the discipline of low inflation and budget surpluses to retain the confidence
of foreign capital.

That is why the Reserve Bank has tightened monetary policy to head off inflation.

The OECD has warned that the reform agenda must continue in preparation for when the
terms of trade decline. The benefits of getting it right are wideranging. Economic success
has allowed Australia to become a more active player in the Western alliance, lift above
our weight in the war against terrorism and ensure greater respect and influence among
our Asian neighbours.

The Weekend Australian Financial Review says the interest rate rise should be seen in context.

Household interest payments have reached almost 11 per cent of household disposable
income, compared to 9 per cent in late 1989, when mortgage interest rates were 17 per
cent.

The largest factor is the increase in home values relative to income -- the median-priced
home now costs 4.5 times household disposable income, compared with 3.2 times in 1999.

Since 2003, interest rates have increased, and national house prices have eased. But
the movements have been modest, unlike in 1989, when mortgage rates went from 13.5 per
cent to 17 per cent in little more than a year.

A given change in interest rate levels now has a far larger impact on household cash
flows than a few decades ago. That's why the reserve Bank has been careful to raise rates
in modest steps in the past few years, and why it should continue to tread carefully in
the coming year.

The Sydney Morning Herald says the revelation that for four years senior police failed
to stop widespread sexual misconduct of the grossest kind at the NSW Police Academy calls
into question the competence of police management and its ministerial bosses.

More effort was spent covering up the misconduct than in stamping it out.

The way management has handled the issue also casts doubt on whether the force should
investigate its own failings.

The NSW Ombudsman mentions 30 police identified as having misbehaved, including 23
who had sex with students or former students, but Police Commissioner Ken Moroney doesn't
want to reopen the cases from 2002.

He is too busy seeking ways to reinvestigate police in future where a complaint is
inadequately dealt with.

The public cannot have confidence that the law will be upheld impartially by police
trained this way.

Sydney's The Daily Telegraph says justice has been done in the acquittal of Karen
Brown of the murder and manslaughter of William Aquilina, who robbed the hotel Ms Brown
was guarding.

It was by his own actions, his own choices, that Aquilina put himself beyond the pale
of society's protection. He stole a car, staged the robbery and assaulted Ms Brown.

They were reckless, dangerous choices, and Aquilina paid a heavy price.

As much as Aquilina's death is regretted, Ms Brown was doing the job for which she was paid.

Melbourne's Herald Sun says most motorists in Victoria have come to accept the "Wipe
off 5" campaign.

As much as slower travel can be frustrating, safety benefits seem clear.

But drivers have a right to be perplexed, and exasperated, if traffic snarls have been
manufactured as a safety vehicle.

Leaving VicRoads after five years in the driver's seat, chief executive David Anderson
has made astonishing admissions, the most bizarre being that VicRoads works to cut crashes
by creating congestion.

Brisbane's The Courier-Mail says the state needs a water plan.

Issues affecting the wellbeing of the state require the government to rise to the challenge,
not rule by referendum and abrogate its decision-making responsibilities.

Queensland Premier Peter Beattie's wimpish advocacy of a referendum in two years to
test voter opinion about the use of directly reclaimed water is such an abrogation. A
decision is needed now.

Had the Toowoomba vote succeeded, Mr Beattie would be advocating augmenting water
supplies with recycled water. Instead, he has retreated to his "Armageddon" position of
recycling as last resort.

Slowly but surely, the premier has manoeuvred it such that he can claim to be forced
to seek a mandate to resolve a crisis exacerbated by the worst drought on record, conveniently
overlooking the government's neglect of its responsibilities for proper infrastructure
planning.

By refusing to rule out an early election categorically, the premier is encouraging
instability and he knows it.

AAP jat/rs

KEYWORD: EDITORIALS

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