Labour has voted against welfare reform (Dagsavisen)

The Labour Party is going to the polls with the campaign slogan 'If welfare means most'. But during the past four years the party has voted in the Storting against a large number of proposals by the Socialist Left Party and the Progress Party in the areas of social welfare, health, education and care of the elderly. Among other things the Labour Party said no to a plan to help poor families. "Promising money without regard to where the cash will be taken from is not a credible policy," said Hill-Marta Solberg, leader of Labour's parliamentary party.

Illegal immigration made easy (Aftenposten)

Squabbles over funding mean that Norway is failing in its responsibilities under the Schengen agreement. Along the Norwegian coast, which is the outer perimeter of the Schengen area, immigration controls are so weak that people traffickers meet far less resistance than the Schengen Convention requires. Several radar stations are out of action and the plan to create a maritime surveillance centre has ground to a halt. The main responsibility for checking the 100,000 or so ships which ply Norwegian ports has, in practice, been left up to just seven coastguard vessels. The Government has now come under fire from several quarters over this issue.

Not interested in efficiency figures (Dagsavisen/Saturday)

'Renewal Minister' Jørgen Kosmo is not too keen on the recently published report which shows it is possible to save NOK 45 billion by increasing efficiency in the public service sector. "These calculations are of absolutely no interest to me," he said. In the report prepared by the Directorate for Public Management , it is estimated that the public service sector could become 20 per cent more efficient.

ESA calls for Norway to open Finnmarksvidda to foreign tourists (Aftenposten)

The EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA) is calling for Norway to open Finnmarksvidda to foreign tourists. Today non-Norwegians are currently banned from using 500 kilometres of salmon rivers and up to 50,000 fishable lakes in this vast expanse of wilderness, located in the country's most northerly county. According to the ESA, the Norwegian restrictions are in breach of the EEA Agreement. Both the Sami Assembly and local politicians have protested strongly against what they see as ESA interference, and are demanding that the Government invoke the ILO Convention to ensure that permanent residents retain their fishing rights on state-owned land.

Housing sale could be cancelled (Dagens Næringsliv)

The Ministry of Trade and Industry is investigating whether the Oslo City Council's sale of 1,744 hospital residences involves the provision of illegal public subsidies to a group of purchasers. The Ministry has asked the local authority to freeze the completion of the sale while the investigation is underway. It was the Government's takeover of the country's hospitals which led the Oslo City Council this spring to carry out one of the fastest and most highly criticized sell-offs of public housing in the country's history. The EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA) is reviewing the sale on the grounds that it could involve illegal public subsidies.

Norwegian crime rate falling (Aftenposten/Saturday)

Recent figures from the Police Directorate show that the crime rate in Norway is moving in the right direction, with fewer thefts, fewer robberies and the number of violent incidents holding steady. Police efforts are also improving. Nationwide, the time it takes for the police to investigate a case has fallen, as has the number of cases outstanding, while the police's detection rate has gone up.

Injured tourists cost millions (Vårt Land/Saturday)

Each year foreign tourists receive medical treatment at Norwegian hospitals to the tune of over NOK 30 million. Traffic accidents and falls incurred while in the untamed Norwegian countryside are the primary reasons for the foreign tourists' injuries. Norway's changeable weather often leads foreigners to misjudge conditions when walking or climbing in the countryside. However, the Norwegian Tourist Board denies that Norway is a dangerous place in which to holiday.

Worth Noting

• The scheme which gives pensioners cheap fares on public transport is to be extended to students, who could be enjoying half-price fares on all public transport as early as next year. The Government is currently evaluating the proposal, which would apply to the whole country. Student and environmental organizations are delighted. (Dagsavisen/Sunday)
• While Danish women earn 30 per cent less than Danish men, Norwegian women earn as much as 37 per cent less than Norwegian men. This puts Norway in last place compared to other Scandinavian countries. (Dagbladet)
• A record number of organ transplants were carried out in Norway during the first half of this year. A total of 174 transplants were carried out in the first six months of the year. (Verdens Gang/Sunday)
• Both the Labour Party's youth wing (AUF) and the Young Conservatives are critical to the Ministry of Justice's proposal which would allow the police to ban young people from being in places with a high crime rate. The Ministry wishes to give the police powers to ban children and young people between the ages of 12 and 15 from areas of widespread criminal activity. (Vårt Land/Saturday)
• Norwegians want a completely smoke-free working environment. In a recent survey by MMI, 51 per cent of those questioned said Norwegian workplaces should not provide special rooms for smokers. (Dagsavisen/Saturday)

Today's comment from Dagbladet

Over two thousand children are waiting for psychiatric treatment. A lack of both qualified personnel and treatment capacity means that hyperactive children must wait up to a year or more for psychiatric and medical follow-up. Given the age of the children concerned, the long waiting period means they lose the opportunity for normal schooling and the chance to build close social relationships. Specialist training for GPs and improved collaboration with specialists would speed up the process of diagnosing hyperactive children and giving them the help and follow-up they need. The Storting has said it wants to see the area of child psychiatry given priority, and has allocated funding for this purpose. We should soon begin to see some results.