FED:Editorials, Thursday, Aug 4

AAP General News (Australia)
08-04-2011
FED:Editorials, Thursday, Aug 4

SYDNEY, Aug 4 AAP - Arts tsar Edmund Capon had the common touch during his 33 years
as director of the Art Gallery of NSW, the Australian newspaper says in its editorial.

"Odd socks have been Edmund Capon's trademark, quirky ice-breakers that help the director
of the Art Gallery of NSW connect with anyone from any walk of life," the newspaper says
in its editorial.

"Capon's departure at the end of this year at the age of 71 is the end of an era, but
inevitable, and there is a case to be made that any institution - no matter how successful
- needs fresh blood at the top after three decades.

"The NSW challenge is not just to build on Capon's work, but also to refresh and expand it.

"The board will need all the next five months to fill his shoes. And socks."





NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell is tied in knots over the ethics classes debate, the Sydney
Morning Herald says in its editorial.

The newspaper says there is bipartisan support for the introduction of ethics classes
in state schools.

"Barry O'Farrell's coalition came to power in March with one of the most sweeping mandates
in Australian electoral history, and it too has said it will let the classes continue.

"The timidity and prickliness O'Farrell is showing on the issue is therefore puzzling.

"Instead of throwing up a barrage of misplaced hyperbole to hide his public self-contradictions,
and the fact that there is a deal with Fred Nile, O'Farrell should make himself absolutely
clear.

"This is turning out to be a failure of leadership."





Is the cure for climate change worse than the illness, The Daily Telegraph asks in its editorial.

"The federal government's carbon-dioxide tax is proposed as though future economic
downturns will not be so serious as to cause us profound problems," the newspaper says
in its editorial.

"The latest predictions from the NSW government might cause us to reconsider," it says,
adding that electricity prices are expected to increase up to $500 a year.

"Labor argues that we cannot afford to ignore climate change.

"The question that NSW now asks is whether we can afford Labor's remedy."





Queensland Premier Anna Bligh runs risk of cash clash with councils, the The Courier-Mail
says in its editorial.

"Ms Bligh needs to tread carefully as she negotiates with local councils over funding
for the urgent safety upgrades recommended by the Queensland Floods Commission of Inquiry,"

the editorial says.

"Money fights between tiers of government over rebuilding expenses are guaranteed after
any natural disaster.

"This has been playing out in Queensland over parts of the last eight months following
an unprecedented summer.

"And the one thing that cannot happen is for these delicate negotiations to turn into
a political stoush.

"What needs to be done now, as a matter of urgency, is beyond politics."





MELBOURNE, Aug 3 AAP - Jim Stynes is doing his best to keep his beloved Melbourne Football
club alive but it is coming at a terrible cost to his own healthy.

The Herald Sun says that by doing his utmost for Melbourne the 45-year-old Stynes has
come under tremendous stress.

"He has given his all to breathe new life into the club, but he is now fighting for
his own survival," the paper's editorial said.

The gravely ill Stynes was admitted to the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne
on Wednesday.

"His leadership in pulling the Melbourne Football Club back from the brink of bankruptcy
with his own never-say-die spirit deserves better than what has happened within the club,
off and on the field," the paper said.

"Jim Stynes' determination to give everything he has in spite of his failing health
is a greater legacy than any football club is entitled to."

more jxt





Linking bonus funding to performance leaves open the possibility of a hospital manipulating
data so that it is seen to be meeting targets, The Age says.

In the latest round of hospital funding arrangements between federal and state governments,
the Commonwealth will set targets hospitals should meet.

For example, by 2015, 90 per cent of patients in emergency departments will have to
be seen within four hours.

And by 2016, all elective surgery patients will have to have their operation within
the clinically appropriate time, depending on the urgency of the case.

"But whether these targets are achievable remains to be seen," says The Age.

It said hospitals have routinely failed to meet the current targets - targets that
are less challenging than those being introduced.

"Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu, who has attempted to play down the real difference
the deal will make to patients, while estimating Victoria would get up to $4.1 billion
extra between 2014-15 and 2019-20, says achieving the targets will be challenging."

"Treating patients more efficiently is a commendable goal but it should not come at
the expense of their safety."

AAP jxt/goc/

KEYWORD: EDITORIALS

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