FED:Editorials, Saturday, August 6 2011

AAP General News (Australia)
08-06-2011
FED:Editorials, Saturday, August 6 2011

SYDNEY, Aug 6 AAP - As the world economy teeters, Australia needs to reform, The Weekend
Australian says in its editorial today.

A large part of Australia's economic success is built on a healthy work ethic and innovative
approach. This is the human capital the Gillard government must unbridle if we are to
maximise our prosperity.

The way to insulate ourselves from the vagaries of global markets and the difficulties
of a two-speed economy is to lift our productivity.

The Productivity Commission has highlighted the powerful benefits that would flow,
in the retail sector, from labour flexibility and shop-trading deregulation, but the
Prime Minister and Treasurer turn blind eyes.

Australia cannot control splurging European governments or force frugality upon Washington
politicians, but we can reform our own economy to maximise our ability to compete. Only
the free-market economy can produce the profits and generate the jobs that are the lifeblood
of all economies.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Treasurer Wayne Swan need to broaden their focus from
unproductive reforms such as the carbon tax, to a serious productivity agenda.

The Sydney Morning Herald says market behaviour last seen after Lehmann Brothers collapsed
is being repeated as investors rush to safe havens.

For governments, which suddenly look vulnerable, the normal fiscal mechanisms to deal
with recession are not available.

Through dependence on the minerals boom, Australia's fortunes are closely tied to China's.

A downturn there would probably be far worse for Australia than collapses on share markets,
and China's fate is linked to that of the US and Europe as they provide markets for many
of its exports.

Meanwhile, consumers are saving, not spending - repaying the debts they ran up in the
past two decades. With sentiment fragile, the share market plunge may be enough to produce
the downturn that many seem to fear.

If it becomes necessary, Australians should expect the government to stimulate the
economy quickly, and early. They know from recent experience that stimulus spending works.

Sydney's The Daily Telegraph says Australia's success in dealing with the global financial
crisis should not allow a false sense of invulnerability to develop this time round.

We face difficulties not as prominent three years ago and that will require some delicate
political massaging to emerge from this downturn unscathed.

A stimulus-style intervention in the retail sector is unlikely to alter shoppers' defensive
mindset.

The government has gone too far in re-regulating the labour market. With the global
situation becoming more restrictive, Australia needs to be more flexible.

The government could can lighten the regulatory load on employers, who face an increased
number of barriers when it comes to such areas as casual and weekend employment.

It might also reconsider the timing and scope of the planned carbon dioxide tax, which
can only add to the nation's financial burden.

Melbourne's The Age says although $55 billion was wiped from the Australian share market
on Friday, Australians should be alert, not alarmed, and must remember the state of our
finances are the envy of the world.

Australians ought to have greater confidence than is suggested by the plunge in the
local sharemarket.

Our economy is not shackled by debt. The state of our finances and public policy are
the envy of most of the world. So, the fear that has rightly hit other places feels misplaced
here.

We must never be complacent or self-satisfied, for that is a sure path to decline and
real despair, but we oughtn't forget the standard of living and stability of our pluralist
political system are prizes for which people elsewhere d are prepared to die.

Melbourne's Herald Sun says electricity distribution bosses telling struggling families
to use less power in order to lower their bills is just another kick in the teeth.

The bosses of Victoria's five electricity distribution companies lay part of the blame
at families, saying they should better manage their power use and shop for better deals.

United Energy, Jemena, SP Ausnet, CitiPower and Powercor earned $1.3 billion from their
Victorian operations last year.

The distribution companies say what they charge is governed by a regulator. But when
they don't like the regulation, they challenge it in court.

No wonder family purses have snapped shut and retail spending has fallen to its worst
level in 50 years.

Brisbane's The Courier-Mail says Queensland's Department of Environment and Resource
Management raid on Southport property to seize air horns being used to scare away roosting
bats must set a new benchmark for official insensitivity to the plight of real people.

Without question it has a duty to protect our wildlife, but are court-sanctioned raids
on private property the right response to the actions of householders driven to the limit?

Surely there has to be some flexibility, especially with bat colonies and the spread
of Hendra virus.

Here is a real chance for the Bligh administration and its bureaucrats to show just
how clever they are: it will take real ingenuity, imagination and common sense to solve
the bat problem.

AAP bm/rs

KEYWORD: EDITORIALS

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