What Australian newspapers say Saturday, August 30
SYDNEY, Aug 30 AAP - It is not easy to change attitudes to alcohol, The Sydney MorningHerald says in its editorial today.
A first step, though, is to accept that there is a problem.
In this respect, the NSW alcohol summit has left no room for doubt.
Alcohol is a community problem and it falls to the community to develop cultural attitudeswhich suppress individual excess.
The summit has suggested useful ideas to refine or tighten existing laws. Its biggercontribution, though, has been to spur us to question our attitudes to alcohol and tothink more deeply about the line between enjoying a drink and abusing it.
The Age says since the jailing of Pauline Hanson, all sides of politics have engagedin more than the usual amount of cant and hypocrisy, opening a door to One Nation's return.
The great risk is that voters will despair of major party politics, rekindling theburning disillusionment that gave rise to One Nation.
Those who turned to an "outsider" will have been confirmed in their belief, howeverill-founded, in an establishment conspiracy.
Opinion polls already show a disturbing recovery by One Nation.
The Daily Telegraph says every now and again a moment comes along when one amazingAustralian does something so exceptional it has the capacity to weld us all together,even for just a moment.
Such a moment came early yesterday when Jana Pittman, 20, notched a world championshipperformance in the 400m hurdles in Paris.
Yesterday, she ran into our national consciousness and there she is lodged most firmly.
The Herald Sun says Australia has welcomed a new champion to the highest ranks of elite athletes.
Jana Pittman's courageous and inspired win was a tonic for Australian athletics aftermixed results at the world titles and Cathy Freeman's exit from the sport last month.
And as the baton is passed on from Freeman to Pittman, the nation will be hoping thereis no stopping Pittmann at next year's Athens Olympics.
The Weekend Australian, long an advocate of restoring the Murray river's health, congratulatesthe Prime Minister and premiers of the eastern states for their $500 million commitmenton water reform.
The contrast with the acrimony over health funding demonstrates the best and worstin the way the states and Canberra work together.
Despite the sound and fury of the premiers' walkout, there are no profound problemswith the way we are governed. Our federal system is probably working better than before.
The Weekend Australian Financial Review says the Coalition of Australian Governmentshas become one of the most important instruments of reform in our system of government,mainly because co-operation is needed to solve many problems not anticipated at federation.
Competition reform has been its greatest achievement, and now it looks as if waterreform may soon join it.
But the national energy market is a work-in-progress, and reform of the health-caresystem is urgent.
Perhaps COAG meetings are too infrequent, providing a platform for political grandstanding.
More regular meetings might help cement COAG in the calendar of government and encouragethe leaders to get on with the business of reform.
The Advertiser says it is nonsense for Foreign Minister Alexander Downer to suggestchurch leaders should not become involved in broad community debate.
It may be that Mr Downer and other ministers do not agree with some of the utterancesand criticisms directed at them from the pulpit, particularly on the politically sensitiveissues of illegal migration and the Iraq war.
That is freedom of speech, robust public debate, the cornerstone of our democracy.
AAP rs
KEYWORD: EDITORIALS
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