EDITORIAL : THE AUSTRALIAN, AUSTRALIA

Making a start in India

THERE needs to be a wider crackdown on corruption.

Given the extent to which corruption and graft pervade India from womb to tomb, as it is frequently said, it is going to take more than the arrest of Delhi Commonwealth Games chief Suresh Kalmadi to convince sceptics that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is finally showing some spine on the issue. Though regarded as incorruptible himself -- a rarity in India, where a third of parliamentarians face corruption charges -- Dr Singh's record in dealing with graft brings him little credit.

Recently, he backed away from appointing a new head of the Central Vigilance Commission only after the Supreme Court intervened to block his nominee because of long-standing corruption charges. He showed reluctance in dealing with his former telecommunications minister, arrested over the sale of 3G telecom licences estimated to have cost a staggering $40 billion in lost revenue. He was unmoved by recent disclosures of MPs handed millions of dollars in bribes before a major confidence vote on which his government's survival depended. To his credit, he has now agreed to push through a delayed plan for a Lokpal, a powerful new anti-corruption watchdog. But this came only after massive displays of public support emerged, especially among younger Indians sickened by their country's reputation, for a hunger strike by the Gandhian anti-graft campaigner Anna Hazare.

Kalmadi is an easy target. The Commonwealth Games, though they turned out fairly well in the end, were a national embarrassment. Even now, many service providers, including Australian companies, are waiting to be paid. Millions of dollars are owed and Australian and European diplomats in Delhi, in a joint letter, warned recently of the serious damage this is doing to the country's reputation. The consultancy firm KPMG has reported that corruption in India is now costing the economy billions of dollars and threatening growth prospects. Foreign investors fed up with the constantly outstretched hands and incessant demands for bribes are being driven away.

Dr Singh knows what that means. Dealing with the Commonwealth Games organisers is a start. But there needs to be a far wider crackdown to change age-old national habits before India can be accorded the place it believes it deserves in the global community.

Labor must take control of this crisis in detention

GOVERNMENT dithers instead of acting to deter boat arrivals.

Crisis has enveloped Australia's border security regime and as we watch the government lurch from denial to panic it is difficult to avoid the conclusion it is simply refusing to take control of the situation. People smugglers are deciding which asylum-seekers make the perilous journey to Australia; the number of arrivals dictates the need to construct detention centres in every state; and some of the detainees themselves have destroyed these facilities, escaped from others and challenged the government's processes and authority.

While Julia Gillard and her ministers mock Tony Abbott's pledge to "stop the boats", the Prime Minister herself said "my aim is to stop the boats before they leave foreign shores". On the face of it, stopping the boats is a bipartisan policy and election pledge voters expect to be honoured. The policy paralysis that sees the Gillard government seemingly doing nothing to bring about that end is inexplicable. The only policy it has proffered to deter the influx of boats is the farcical East Timor processing centre. The government's other actions are all designed simply to try to cope with the relentless arrivals. It is only now -- with buildings burnt, protests dragging out and panic setting in -- that Immigration Minister Chris Bowen is trying to change some rules. And, again, this is not designed to deter people seeking a place on a boat but rather to help manage the disaffected people already in detention.

The Australian shares the frustration of the public. Despite all the warnings and demands for action, the government continues to dither and we continue to see scores of people, including asylum-seekers, detention centre workers and emergency services personnel, placed in distress and sometimes in peril. We welcome the belated action from Mr Bowen to ensure those responsible for riots, violence and vandalism have their quest for permanent residency rejected, so they can either be deported or, if they are refugees, offered only temporary protection. Our concern, however, is that this initiative smacks of a stop-gap solution to deal with the consequences of a system at breaking point.

For all the toughness of the previous government, and all the criticism it endured, it put an end to the people-smuggling trade. Then, as leading refugee advocate Robert Manne has admitted, Labor softened our border protection regime and let the genie back out of the bottle. It is shameful that nearly 7000 asylum-seekers are now in detention. We also support a doubling of our orderly refugee intake along with tough measures to prevent boat arrivals. Any serious attempt to restore order must involve disincentives to boat arrivals by creating uncertainty about the people smugglers' prized product -- permanent residency. So Labor should immediately resume overseas processing at Nauru or Manus Island in Papua New Guinea and consider reinstating a form of temporary visas for all boat arrivals -- both measures it scrapped in 2008.

If the only reason the Prime Minister won't contemplate these measures is because they are part of the Howard government legacy, she ought to get over that hang-up and implement a policy overhaul that once again gives Australia a border protection regime that works.

Premier versus Commissioner

VICTORIA needs its senior law enforcement tensions resolved.

Australian political history shows the fraught nature of the relationship between premiers and police commissioners -- in various states, both premiers and commissioners have suffered dire consequences from falling out. So the testy posturing between Victoria's Chief Commissioner, Simon Overland, and Premier Ted Baillieu could have significant ramifications.

Just over two years ago, eyebrows were raised when then premier John Brumby and his police minister provided a picture opportunity pinning the insignia to the uniformed shoulders of their newly appointed top cop. This was seen by many police, lawyers and politicians as less than the requisite healthy detachment between senior police and politicians. Overland, from day one, was perceived as being close to the Labor government. He assiduously courted media coverage and contacts as he established a high profile. But now, facing difficulties, he has complained and instituted media bans, including against top-rating morning radio host Neil Mitchell.

The commissioner's relationship with the Liberal Baillieu government quickly has become strained, with the Premier effectively putting him on notice to lift his game. Overland has been dogged by controversy over various issues, from claims his releasing of intelligence undermined a murder investigation to suggestions he has not sufficiently distanced the Office of Police Integrity from the police force itself. Now he is confronting a range of challenges, including inherited computer problems that have allowed parole breakers to remain at large and allegedly commit murders, difficulties in recruiting increased numbers of officers, allegations that crime statistics have been manipulated and, apparently, severe tensions with some of his most senior staff, including his deputy commissioner Sir Ken Jones. On top of this there is a sense Overland is bunkering down and surrounding himself with allies, including former OPI investigations chief, now assistant commissioner, Graham Ashton and, potentially, current OPI deputy director Paul Jevtovic. Against this backdrop, the Premier has promised to scrap the OPI and establish a new all-powerful anti-corruption body. He has made it clear he expects the commissioner to resolve his many challenges. The onus is now on both men to deliver the right outcomes.