Simonsen to be expelled from Justice Committee (Dagbladet/Aftenposten)

Yesterday’s TV2 documentary "State of the realm" traced a line between the Storting and the gay watering-hole in Oslo known as "Enka". In the spotlight was Progress Party MP Jan Simonsen. It was the last straw for Progress Party chairman Carl I. Hagen, who has told Mr Simonsen that he will not be allowed to continue as the party’s legal affairs spokesman. From yesterday’s documentary Mr Hagen learned among other things of allegations that Mr Simonsen had helped his close friend Ivar Berge (28), manager of "Enka", to get the gay club a licence to sell alcohol. Mr Berge has a previous German conviction for being an accessory to prostitution for which he was sentenced to four years in prison. Mr Berge was convicted of obtaining clients for 12 prostitutes on 340 occasions. The Rogaland county branch of the Progress Party will meet on Thursday to decide whether Jan Simonsen should be expelled from the party.

UDI to fence in asylum seekers (Aftenposten)

Asylum seekers whose applications are thought to be without foundation will shortly be placed in transit camps surrounded by strict security and surveillance. "Very sensible," was Local Government and Regional Affairs Minister Sylvia Brustad’s comment. At the same time the Immigration Directorate (UDI) wants to prevent criminals from having free reign while their applications are being processed. "The UDI will quickly separate those who are not going to be allowed to stay in Norway from other asylum seekers. This will also reduce the level of illegal activity in and around the refugee reception centres, because these problems are most often linked to people whose applications for asylum are groundless," said Trygve G. Nordby, head of the UDI.

Labour moves into high gear before leaving office (Dagsavisen)

Just days before the Labour government resigns, it has given the go-ahead to two gas-fired power stations which will make life difficult for the incoming coalition. The proposed gas-fired power station at Skogn in Trøndelag county is now to be given approval. Yesterday the Government approved proposals for a change in the law to give billions of kroner in tax breaks to the group of companies behind the controversial development of the Snow White plant. That the gas-fired power station at Skogn will be granted its final operating licence and emission permits before the present government steps down has been confirmed by both Environment Minister Siri Bjerke and Petroleum and Energy Minister Olav Akselsen. The Snow White facility and the Skogn power station will together emit three million tonnes of CO2, almost 10 per cent of Norway’s total emissions of this greenhouse gas.

No cut in sick pay – for now (Dagsavisen/Aftenposten)

The agreement not to touch the sick pay scheme is valid for just four years. At the end of that time the amount of sick leave taken by employees must have fallen by 20 per cent. If not, demands for a reduction in sick pay benefits will be back on the table. Employer and employee organizations, with the mediation of Labour and Government Administration Minister Jørgen Kosmo, have been working for a long time to reach agreement on a deal which would reduce the high level of absenteeism without undermining the sick pay scheme. Yesterday the final agreement was announced. Mr Kosmo underlined that the deal is not only about reducing sick leave, but also about getting more people back into the workforce. This includes people who receive disability benefits because of their reduced capacity to take paid employment and people who have taken early retirement. "The people who have come up with this agreement obviously do not understand the connection between the level of sick leave and the level of employment. The price for having more people in the workforce is a higher rate of sick leave, says Ebba Wergeland, a hospital consultant and researcher at the Department of Community Medicine.

Higher education – longer life (Aftenposten)

Rich and well-educated Norwegians are steadily extending their life-expectancy, while people from low-status groups have the same lifespan as before, according to a recent survey. From 1980 to 1994 the mortality rate among poorly educated men fell by three per cent, compared with a 19 per cent fall for men with a university education. The corresponding figures for women were two per cent and 12 per cent. "We are not sure why the differences in health should be increasing. We will have to discuss why," said Torgeir Hernes, Assistant Director General at the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs.

Airline fares increase rural depopulation (Nationen)

"Indecently high airline fares on flights from remote parts of Norway to more central areas will lead to centralization and increased depopulation of these areas. Travel costs have become a significant burden for businesses located far away from the capital city. "A full-fare return ticket between our most northerly county and the capital costs almost NOK 8,000. This is an expense which is very hard to bear for both private individuals and companies who have to send employees south," said Erling Fløtten, the head of the Finnmark branch of the Confederation of Norwegian Business and Industry (NHO). The NHO in Finnmark has repeatedly raised the question of airline fares, but has been met only by further increases.

Kværner’s NOK 600 million shortfall (Dagens Næringsliv)

This autumn Kværner will experience periods in which it is NOK 600 million short of having enough money to pay its bills, even after its has been granted a loan of NOK 800 million, according to the company’s own figures. Kværner’s need for additional equity could also be far greater than has previously been indicated. Kværner’s liquidity squeeze has proved to be far more serious than was previously realized, and is in the process of giving the company’s management an acute credibility problem. The Oslo Stock Exchange has for some considerable time been expressing its dissatisfaction with the way Kværner has been keeping the market informed of developments. So at 10 am yesterday Kværner issued a statement saying, "Kværner’s liquidity prognosis shows a short-term liquidity requirement".

Worth Noting

• Billionaire boating enthusiast Kjell Inge Røkke has now formally been placed under suspicion of bribery and making a false statement in an affair involving his coastal skipper’s licence. (Dagbladet)
• From a democratic point of view it is untenable that the Government is discussing a "technical upgrade" of the EEA Agreement at closed meetings with the European Commission. The issue must be subject to open debate in the Storting, said Sigbjørn Gjelsvik, leader of the anti-EU membership organization, No to the EU. (Aftenposten)
• Norwegian soldiers are being encouraged to report bullying officers to the police. The aim is for the civilian justice system to deal with officers who do not stick to laws and regulations. (Aftenposten)
• Women who have children fathered by different men have a lower risk of developing pre-eclampsia than women who have two children by the same man, according to a recent survey carried out by the National Institute of Public Health. (Dagsavisen)
• The Conservatives, Christian Democrats and Liberals are planning to tighten up today’s abortion law. This delicate question has been a hot issue during the parties’ coalition negotiations. The parties have doubts about whether foetal handicap should be grounds for termination of a pregnancy after 12 weeks. (Dagsavisen)
• When Klassekampen tried to take copies of official documents, the Ministry of Justice’s archive demanded that the newspaper sign a declaration of secrecy, breach of which carries a three-year prison sentence. "Totally reprehensible," was the Press Association’s comment. (Klassekampen)
• The hotel chain, Choice Hotels Scandinavia, headed by Petter A. Stordalen, are part of a group led by Trygve Hegnar who are thought to be interested in buying Braathens. (Dagens Næringsliv)
• Dag Hareide wants Norway to start training peace workers. Mr Hareide is head of the Oslo Peace Academy, whose aim is to create a two-year master’s programme in peace work and conflict management. The programme will be taught in English and will recruit both its teaching staff and students from around the world. (Vårt Land)

Today’s comment from Nationen

In its agonizing soul-searching after the election, the Labour Party was quick to point the finger of blame at its own Social Affairs Minister, Guri Ingebrigtsen, making her one of the party’s biggest scapegoats. The view is that Ms Ingebrigtsen’s management the Government social policy is one of the main reasons for the Labour Party’s disastrous election result. The paradoxical may now be about to happen – that the new coalition government, led by Kjell Magne Bondevik, will reintroduce the scheme abolished by Ms Ingebrigtsen this spring. As a result social security claimants will be allowed to retain both the basic child benefit and the additional cash benefit for children under three. According to the NRK Dagsnytt news programme, the parties are reviewing this particular point as part of their negotiations. It is seen as one of several elements in a package of measures to help the poorest members of society in this country. Included in the package is also an increase in tax relief for those who are earning the lowest wages. This is, of course, both sensible and the right thing to do.