Government considers law prohibiting discrimination of disabled (Dagsavisen)

The Government is considering whether it should appoint a committee to prepare a report on a possible law prohibiting discrimination of the disabled. The Norwegian Federation of Organizations of Disabled People regards it as almost certain that this legislation will be adopted. It will be an expensive proposition if full accessibility is demanded. In the transport sector this would mean that all old materiel would have to be replaced, which would involve a new investment of around NOK 26 billion. The Manneråk Committee, which was responsible for a report on discrimination, recommended that accessibility be improved by degrees, for example, full accessibility in all new buildings and means of transport.

Nine of ten homeless families in Oslo are immigrants (Dagsavisen)

Ninety per cent of homeless families with children in Oslo are refugees or immigrants. The rental market is so expensive that they are forced to live in hospices. The Somalis are the worst off, since this group has been in Norway for a relatively short time and has a poor contact network. Arne Holm at the Norwegian Building Research Institute said, "Today there are no general housing measures targeted specifically at homeless refugees and immigrants. The government must address this problem when it devises refugee policy, among other things through better coordination with housing policy."

Vardø Municipal Council to halt activities immediately (VG)

At 18.00 today, all members of the Vardø Municipal Council are resigning from their posts as a protest against the government proposal to close the local airport and Vardø Radio. This was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Vardø has already lost around 600 jobs, of which 400 were in the state sector. The results have been dramatic for the little community. The population has been almost halved since 1968. Jon-Arne Harjo, Labour Party group chairman, is not particularly concerned about Minister of Local Government and Regional Development Erna Solberg’s statement that it is illegal for the council members to resign. "She can give us a red card if she wants. It doesn’t matter a bit since she has already put us on the sidelines," said Mr. Harjo.

Jagland prepared the way for Juul in November 2002 (Nationen)

Thorbjørn Jagland, who was Foreign Minister at the time, decided to appoint fellow Labour member and personal friend Mona Juul to the position of ambassador while she was employed as his state secretary. This was documented in a letter sent by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Storting’s Standing Committee on Scrutiny and the Constitution yesterday. Carl I. Hagen (Progress), a member of the Standing Committee, now wants to investigate Ms. Juul’s appointment in more detail, including how many times this type of procedure has been used during the past 20 years, and whether Mr. Jagland’s impartiality was considered at all in connection with the appointment.

One in five criminals is under 18 (Vårt land)

From 1995 to 2000, 3550 more people under the age of 18 were charged with criminal activities than during the previous five-year period. The most common crimes were theft and crimes of violence. Sturla Falck at Norwegian Social Research cites four main reasons for this development: Graffiti-writing, formerly regarded as a misdemeanour, has now been redefined as a criminal offence; the police have stepped up their efforts to halt drug use, and are now increasingly arresting people for possession and use of narcotics; children under the age of 15 are not charged, but are listed as perpetrators because the police have been ordered to thoroughly investigate cases in which children under the age of criminal responsibility are involved; and society’s threshold of tolerance for violence and threats of violence has been lowered.

Worth noting

• Today the 50 ^th> Bergen International Festival opens. The opening programme has been moved from the Grieg Hall to an outdoor venue in the city centre. (Aftenposten)
• The USA will build a 3-metre-high fence around its embassy in Oslo as a "temporary" solution that will be in place for three to four years. (Aftenposten)
• Brazil’s Vice President is visiting Norway. Brazil wants to develop its relations with Norway in the fields of energy, aquaculture, cellulose and harbour administration. (Aftenposten)
• An investigation carried out by the defence forces has revealed that 20 per cent of new military recruits are weak in mathematics, and 10 per cent have problems in reading and writing. Lieutenant Colonel Dag Tvedt at Headquarters Defence Command Norway regards this as a security risk. (Klassekampen)

Today's comment from VG

A large number of homeowners whose property is situated on a leased site are getting an unpleasant surprise in the mail. Since the new Act relating to site leases was adopted on 1 January, the owners of these sites have had the right to increase rents substantially. For contracts less than 20 years old, these increases can in practice be virtually limitless. The Labour Party has submitted proposals to maintain strict price regulation and to extend the right of leasers to purchase the sites on which their property is situated. In VG’s view, these proposals would give an unfair advantage to leasers at the expense of the site owners.