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Garrett: when a sacking isn’t a sacking

David Penberthy

by David Penberthy

26 Feb 04:26pm

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Filed under: Election 2010, Insulation Scandal, Kevin Rudd, Peter Garrett

152 comments

Peter Garrett’s demotion by Kevin Rudd this afternoon has all the hallmarks of a sacking - it is humiliating, it is based on poor performance, and it leaves him with virtually no power in his narrowly-defined portfolio.

Gawn, almost: Garrett's demotion stops short of a proper sacking.

But it isn’t a sacking, because Kevin Rudd does not want to give the Opposition the satisfaction of claiming a ministerial scalp, with all the political momentum such a blow would generate.

Sneakily announced late on a Friday to avoid mass media scrutiny throughout a full week, and with the Parliament not sitting next week, Kevin Rudd said his decision to limit Garrett’s responsibilities followed a long conversation with his besieged Environment Minister today.

No-one is really going to buy that. Garrett’s responsibilities were already very limited anyway - Penny Wong has done all the heavy lifting on climate change - making the already under-employed minister’s handling of the insulation scheme all the more woeful.

At least Kevin Rudd admitted today that he didn’t think Garrett was up to managing his brief.

“There is no doubt this involves a reduction in his responsibilities,’’ Mr Rudd said.

He tried to sugarcoat the shafting by saying that Garrett was “passionate” about environmental protection and that the new-look portfolio would let him concentrate on just that, with the more impressive Greg Combet having carriage of the clean-up of the insulation mess.

The whole thing has been a disaster - four people dead, hundreds out of work, much of the $2.4 billion scheme blown on dud installations which are now being redone or checked under the emergency package.

The fact that Garrett has not actually been sacked means that many people will continue to argue that the old maxim “the buck stops here” no longer applies, and that ministerial accountability is not what it was. 

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152 comments

Show oldest | newest first

    • Ben says:

      03:47pm | 26/02/10

      If there’s ever been a positive ad for Workchoices, Peter Garrett is it.
      FairWork Australia: No One Gets Fired, Even If They Really Really Really Deserve It!

      Reply

    • Jane says:

      04:48pm | 26/02/10

      Spot on Ben. It’s a joke.

      This is just ‘seen to be doing something’....when it’s actually nothing. Typical Labor deceit and spin….and done late on a Friday to dissipate in the media cycle over the w/e and take the heat off.
      Labor True Deceivers = EPIC FAIL

    • Jane the ropeable elder says:

      06:14pm | 26/02/10

      Not only do you not get sacked, you retain the same pay level and position with more time to pursue your “passion” (99, 100)

      At the same time they grab the opportunity to create yet another Department!

      If I recall the figures correctly Howard reduced PS numbers to around 110,000, the Ruddastrophic Government, in reducing the pull on the Public Purse has already increased number to about 162,000 in two years.

    • Harvey Allatt says:

      08:32pm | 26/02/10

      Workchoices needs to apply to the public service .How switched on are they.The policy setters in Garretts department must be asleep at the wheel.On any measurement they fail .I hope they dont want to run our hospitals from Canberra.Watch out Nicola

    • Chris says:

      12:29am | 27/02/10

      Yeah Garrett, the poor people who have had dodgy insulation installed…
      How can they sleep while their beds are burning?

    • Jen from Nana Glen says:

      09:37am | 27/02/10

      Agree.  Not just hundreds out of work but try thousands and many businesses to the wall still carrying and paying for insulation stock. Typical of Labor - who amongst them has ever run a business, except into the ground!

    • Scot says:

      02:01pm | 28/02/10

      Jane, yes you are so right, that means Federally there is 1 public servant for every 132 Australians. if you also ad to that of NSW and the other states we have more public servants per head of population that many countries around the world. And what do we have to show for it, Health Failed, Roads, Failed, Schools Failed, Aged care Failed, Rail Failed, Border Protection Failed,Climate Change Failed, Insulation Failed, Consultants and advisers Failed, etc. etc. We are becoming an over governed third world country. Spin and lies.

    • Steve says:

      08:42pm | 28/02/10

      I say, sack Garrett he was a ring-in from Latham (enough said) and promote Greg Combet to the full ministry. I have confidence that Combet will be far, far more competent than a former musician, despite his obvious passion for the environment.

    • John A Neve says:

      03:48pm | 26/02/10

      Now is the time for Peter to resign, Kevin no longer trusts him, no trust no loyalty.

      Resign now Peter, move to the back benches and come election time don’t stand. No one deserves to be shafted.

      Reply

    • Phil says:

      05:32pm | 26/02/10

      John, we were starting to agree on a few things.

      Garrett was obviously the scapegoat for the true deceivers that run the show, Rudd Gillard and Tanner the three of them would struggle to run a primary school canteen let alone a country.

      Garrett oversaw the biggest monetary policy disaster since I can remember. The fix up could cost 600,000,000 or 600 million for the dummies. Say it quick and it doesnt sound like much and that figure is based on the guvmint’s own admission that 24% could be wrong, dangerous or ineffective.

      When the ceiling insulation policy was announced the guvmint were warned this was open to scandals, abuse safety issues and rorts and they turned a blind eye. To quote Lindsay Tanner “the GFC hit with such force we didnt have time to dot the “I’s” and cross the “T’s” which in itself is complete bullshit.

      Australia barely felt the effect of America due to successive guvmint’s reforms, namely Hawke Keating and Howard. Spending 60 Billion quickly may have helped but they have not got bang for their buck or anything lasting bar a few Julia “Red” Gillard School Memorial Halls.

      Wonder if Rudd would ask his son with training to inspect the possibly electrified homes. Dont think so.

      Garrett was either inept or so under the thumb of Rudd & Co that he was unable to change anything for fear of upsetting his true deceivers.

    • Jane I said I was ropeable the elder says:

      06:17pm | 26/02/10

      The very next thing to be lined up in our sights is the BER.

      Anecdotal evidence points to this one being very little different in results to the other.

      I dub this the Ruddastrophic excuse for a Government

    • Tora says:

      07:11pm | 26/02/10

      Spot on! It was a mistake to sell his soul to a major political party. The man is better than that. He should have learned the lesson from Cheryl Kernot. Quit now Peter. Do not give Kevin a leg to stand on specially on your political body.

    • Alice says:

      12:16pm | 27/02/10

      Phil
      “Garrett oversaw the biggest monetary policy disaster since I can remember. The fix up could cost 600,000,000 or 600 million for the dummies”.
      Umm..I don’t think so! Nelson against advice from defence cost us billions buying what was known in the industry as a ‘duds’.
      The illegal war on the fabrication of WMD has cost us lives & billions.
      Phil
      “Wonder if Rudd would ask his son with training to inspect the possibly electrified homes. Dont think so”.
      According to statistics 36 insualiton related fires occurred during 2005-2006 in Victoria alone a trend reflected nationally.
      Long before the Rudd government.
      Others are researching the statistics & the results may surprise you.
      http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollytics/2010/02/24/did-the-insulation-program-actually-reduce-fire-risk/
      Although, Howard’s Sydney airport noise insulation reduction scheme had the same problems and that has managed to escape un-noticed. The sub-contractor was responsible. Not ministers.
      My how the wheel turns!

    • Jeff says:

      03:50pm | 26/02/10

      This is a soft move from a populist Prime Minister. Peter Garrett is not fit to be a Minister if he cannot handle this one task. The only appropriate thing to do is to sack him.

      Reply

    • formersnag says:

      03:54pm | 26/02/10

      The entire red/green/labour coalition cabinet, junior ministry & caucus were all calling desperately for economic stimulus spending of any type ASAP. They wanted to delay the onset of recession, hopefully till after the election & buy votes, particularly of tradesmen.  They all should go, or at least apologise for their collective incompetence.

      Reply

    • Lily says:

      03:55pm | 26/02/10

      For goodness sakes. Like Combet doesn’t have enough to do as it is! Let’s just burn out the high achieveres shall we?

      Reply

    • Brian says:

      04:10pm | 26/02/10

      He sure does - like have an affair, probably on the public purse with another Labor MP.

      If he is a high achiever, I am Bill Gates.

      “Mr Combet, from Newcastle, where he holds the seat of Charlton, split up with his second wife of 12 years Petra Hilsen late last year. Ms Parke, 43, is the Federal Member for Fremantle, Western Australia.”

    • Phil says:

      07:36pm | 26/02/10

      Brian

      Lily is being sincere.

      Combet is a high acheiver. At least he is screwing someone else. The rest of cabinet/ALP has done that to the rest of Australia without protection, lubrication or consequences.

      The power gets to the lot of them. He was interested in protecting workers rights, or he felt the only way to get ahead was to sleep his way to the top.

    • Jonathan Appleyard says:

      03:58pm | 26/02/10

      Abbott 1 Rudd 0. Opposition in the ascendancy.

      Reply

    • T.Chong says:

      04:14pm | 26/02/10

      Jon: as I recall . about 5 or so ministers, secretaries resigned / demoted sacked by Howard during his first term.
      To quote Midnite Oil - “Short memories” an affliction of many LNP partisans at this site.

    • dick j says:

      05:32pm | 26/02/10

      T Chong your recollection is wrong as always. Youe hyperbole is astounding.

    • Grumbles says:

      06:00pm | 26/02/10

      And thats all we wanted Rudd to do and he has failed. Spineless

    • Fog Badger says:

      07:51pm | 26/02/10

      Come on T.Chong. Get serious. The two wrongs fallacy strikes again!

    • Macca says:

      08:40pm | 26/02/10

      As much as I hate to say it, T.Chong is on the ball.

      I think Howard sacked 12 ministers during his time as PM,and several of those were during his tough first term.

      Howard may be long gone, but he had more substance than Rudd. If Gillard was PM Garrett would not have lost his job, but membership to the labor party for life

    • Paolo says:

      10:56am | 27/02/10

      Ah Chong the Labor true deceivers do like to bring up history which has nothing to do with the present. Always a sign of a flailing party devoid of content.

    • Alice says:

      11:16am | 27/02/10

      All the inner circle responsible for lies & coverups were never sacked Chong.
      He didn’t sack Abbott after he lied about setting up a slush fund to oust political opponents.
      He didn’t sack Bishop even though her aged care policy saw 8 dead from negligence and many abused. She had volumes of complaints from nurses, families, doctors.
      The telling point of difference with Rudd & Howard is that Howard wouldn’t take responsibility for anything when it went south.
      We could be here all day listing the deceit perpetrated on the voters by the Coalition government & their total denial of responsibility.

    • Scot says:

      02:12pm | 28/02/10

      Alice, So sad that you are not only trying to deceive yourself but also others in this column. What a shame. This is the problem with Rudd he is also two people, he has already admitted he has failed the people. Alice, you and Chong can always go and find Rudd a new job, maybe in the beef, apple or banana industry? Or one of the other many failures that have been created during the Rudd dark days. Old Chinese saying, fish always stink from head down.

    • Naughty says:

      03:59pm | 26/02/10

      So does this mean less income for Mr Garrett?  One would hope so. If you don’t do the job you don’t get the money. Hopefully the government has learnt to look after the pennies.  Start with Mr Garrett’s salary.

      Reply

    • Craig says:

      04:45pm | 26/02/10

      I doubt very very much.  This government doesn’t know how to save money.  The labor brand is simply about spending money and talk, spin, talk, spin….

    • 6clegs says:

      04:03pm | 26/02/10

      The rot started years ago. What about the wheat scandal/WMDs/children overboard? don’t remember any ministers taking any falls for those?

      At least the PM has owned it. Did Howard ever own anything?
      Anyone with any political nous knew that a reshufle was in the offing.

      Reply

    • Simon says:

      04:16pm | 26/02/10

      If it looks like a labour hack, if it seems like a labour hack, then it probably is a labor hack. How about some perspective. How about we as Australians try and get the best out of these people that are supposed to be representing us. Are you saying 6clegs that Garrett is a competent minister or are you just playing the same blame game that has us in the national situation we are in.

    • T.Chong says:

      04:27pm | 26/02/10

      Howard and Downer were the ministers for “I know nothing” (apologies to sgt Shultz.)

    • Mark says:

      04:29pm | 26/02/10

      LOL. Give it a rest, 6clegs. How many years back do you want to dredge to distract from this minister’s dismal performance? “At least Rudd owned it”? Big deal, he damned well should own it! It’s his government, his appointed minister. Who else do you think should “own” it?

      The Rudd government; long on promises; very, very short on delivery.

    • Steve says:

      04:59pm | 26/02/10

      Just for comparison, an NZ minister has resigned this week for buying two bottles of wine on his parliamentary account, and calling it ‘Food and Beverage’.

    • 6clegs says:

      06:54pm | 26/02/10

      sorry that it’s taken a while to get back to ya, “Simon” . It took me a while to stop laughing- Me,  “a labor hack”? oh that’s just too funny for words!

      This site, honestly! dare post ones thoughts in an unemotional way - and on come all the emotional lnpers to accuse you of all sorts of fantasy… If this site worried more about the personal attacks, and less about spelling/grammar/shouting in capitals it might have more ordinary people posting, subscribing even - maybe it would become relevant to people outside of the 10acres that is Capital Hill.

      But me thinks this site prefers its elitist reputation, which, considering the childish and snarky posts from so many of the intelligentsia doesn’t say much for what passes for “elite” in Australia.

      I find it incredibley sad that all the Iraqis who’ve died because of a lie mean nothing to the lnp—- but 4 Ozzies tragically die because of shonky employers, and the l.n.p “hacks” want blood. *sigh*

      My complaint is not just because of a couple of posters who’ve replied to my 1st comment on this thread (i’m not that lame) - but at all the snark and virtual bitch-slaps that so many contributors across this site think is just a.ok. Surely, they wouldn’t speak to strangers like that in person????

      gawd, i hope not!

      (not really expecting to see this post published)

    • Ben says:

      11:08am | 27/02/10

      6clegs: I’ll give you ‘children overboard’, it was a badly handled and too rushed situation with the benefit of hindsight (something Rudd should learn from when it comes to just about everything), ask the directors of the Australian Wheat Board about the ‘wheat scandal’, and as for WMD’s- “There is no debate or dispute as to whether Saddam Hussein possesses weapons of mass destruction. He does.” - Kevin Rudd, 2002

      Got any more of the usual empty catchphrases?  i think you forgot to say “Tampa”.

      I’d just like to add also, that almost every time (at least 90%) I hear someone mention any of these tired old buzzwords and I challenge them to tell me what it is about the situations that they think is so scandalous, they give vague meaningless answers, confirming that all they’re doing is parroting something they heard but don’t have a clue about.

    • Alice says:

      11:38am | 27/02/10

      If it sounds like a Liberal hack, if it seems like a Liberal hack, then it probably is a Liberal hack.
      Good self evaluation there Simon.
      The loudest howls of indignation and expectations of accountability are coming from those who supported & still support the party never accountable for anything, The Coalition.

    • Brian B says:

      04:04pm | 26/02/10

      Call me cynical - but! - the pink batt stuff up has Dear Leader’s fingerprints all over it. The “go hard, go early” mantra in the stimulus package would seem to be the cause of this disaster - and of similar problems emerging in the school halls project.

      I suspect Garrett had little real control over the insulation program and that “the buck stops with me” Rudd was running the show via the office of Prime Minister and Cabinet.

      Reply

    • Fi says:

      06:17pm | 26/02/10

      I absolutely agree! what a disgrace.

    • Bob Smith says:

      04:06pm | 26/02/10

      Garrett will be gone first day after the election.

      Reply

    • Phil says:

      07:33pm | 26/02/10

      Remind me how long he has to be there to collect a pension for life?

      Enough said.

    • Macca says:

      08:43pm | 26/02/10

      Not a chance @Bob Smith, Kingsford-Smith is one of the safest Labour seats in the country. Garrett will still get voted in.

    • Scot says:

      08:00pm | 28/02/10

      Bob, Not of Sussex Street master decide he is not worth the energy. They will be fighting on two fronts now the NSW Labor black hole and now the Rudd Labor black holes. They are tapped put now and Gillard has not had enough time to unionise and socialise the rest of the country so they fill their coffers back up. Or did we not forget the $1B that Rudd put into the Labor Bank in Melbourne during the GFC.

    • Paulh says:

      04:07pm | 26/02/10

      Rudd is taking the citizens of Australia for fools, this action regarding Garrett is a farce.If Rudd is taking responsibility for the debacle what else is he going to take responsibility for, the wasted BILLIONS on the schhol build scheme, the wasted BILLIONS with no cost benefit analysis on the NBN, the wasted Millions on copenhagen, the wasted millions on the cash giveaway when a cut to GST would have achieved more and put monies back into the economy.Does the man think we are stupid.
      When will he pull in the debacle of waste on his stimulus,when will he concede that the stimulus was overdone and could possibly take 20 years to repay.

      Reply

    • Steve says:

      04:51pm | 26/02/10

      Penbo, I thought you were banning reader comments with randomly capitalised words.  Maybe you should be a politician and then you can break as many promises as you like!

    • Dingo says:

      06:18pm | 26/02/10

      Steve, I think Penbo’s ban is on blogs written entirely in upper case.

    • Friday says:

      11:20pm | 26/02/10

      Yes, he does think we are stupid.  After all he is a mandarin speaking ex-diplomat and the Australian public would just understand, would they? If we re-elect them next time he will be proven right.

    • Gary Duffy says:

      04:14pm | 26/02/10

      Under Howard’s workchoices, The Government would not have been legally been able to axe the scheme and make thousands of people jobless without proper and correct notice. However under Rudd and Gillard, it seems the Government has no policy on early termination of a scheme.

      Reply

    • Scott says:

      05:07pm | 26/02/10

      yes Gary but under Howard we wouldn’t have had this ridiculous scheme or half the other balmy ideas this labor govt have inflicted us with

    • Gary D says:

      09:46pm | 26/02/10

      At least every other worker under Howard had to get 2 weeks notice..not 2 hours as Garratt and Rudd gave the entire Insulation industry.

    • idontvote says:

      04:14pm | 26/02/10

      Green Then Labor. Garrett should be sacked as well as Loose Lips Rudd for both of them are taking OZ in debt and higher prices on everthing.
      1. The Booze Tax (Did not make any difference to drinking habits.
      2. Illegal Boat refugees. coming every month
      3. Carbon Tax and global warming is a joke.

      Garret should go back to singing as he is not worth a penny in politics.

      Reply

    • William Crane says:

      05:21pm | 26/02/10

      If your name is indicative of your participate in political debate in Australia you have no real right to be saying anything in regard to any government that you ‘dontvote’ for!

    • Jane the Elder says:

      06:21pm | 26/02/10

      It’s good to see you taking some interest idv.  Next time, please vote. It’s important!

    • Fog Badger/donkeyvote says:

      07:55pm | 26/02/10

      William Crane 0621pm.

      Mate, we live in a democracy.

    • Lj says:

      09:31pm | 26/02/10

      Garrett sing? You have to be joking!!! Rudd, Gillard, Tanner and Wong (where is she) should all go now.

    • Harold Kray says:

      11:04am | 27/02/10

      Illegal boat refugees, coming every month????

      Every week…...even every day

      The refugees don’t even bother “sneaking” in anymore, they want to be detected nowdays…..off to Christmas Island for a 100 day holiday at the Australian Taxpayer’s expense then free passage to Australa ....It’s a joke!!!!!

      Peter Garret, great entertainer…....sheizzen houssen politician!!!

    • jones says:

      05:10am | 28/02/10

      Lj… wong is in Bali schmoozing with the in-crowd and planning more carbon taxes.
      The whole thing is a sham, and the bills are already racking up. Exactly what was our net reduction in emissions due to this program, taking into account all the additional site visits to recheck for electrified ceilings?
      Man-made global warming… what a con.

    • Ian F says:

      04:14pm | 26/02/10

      Peter Garrett is still a Cabinet Minister, so he now has less responsibility and less work, but the same remuneration.

      Reply

    • Sick of the Waste says:

      04:22pm | 26/02/10

      OK. Its a very worrying situation Australians should find themselves in. At this time of our development, Australia has no-one actually looking after its best interests. The major political parties are too interested in blame games and one upmanship. The rest of the parties aren’t worth mentioning in terms of serious leadership. The Joe Public who has any interest in politics is also playing the “remember what John Howard was like” game. Also not helpful. But as time goes by our government continues to waste billions of dollars while going unaccounted for. Rudd today has created another department - that requires new stationery / new plaques on the walls / new everything - plus changes to other departments. Just because Rudd wouldn’t admit they stuffed up. We really need to look at ourselves - as politicans will only take as much leash as we the public give them.

      Reply

    • Rapacity De m'Oleans says:

      04:22pm | 26/02/10

      I wonder when the Australian public will turn its eye on the obviously plentiful number of installers who suddenly put their hand up for all this taxpayer-sponsored work and who have walked away from this mess with the only profit and probably potential malpractice suits behind them? I think it’s time, folks.

      Reply

    • Steve of Cornubia says:

      07:46pm | 26/02/10

      So, when a government throws billions of dollars at an industry that simply doesn’t have enough businesses to do the job quickly enough, we should be surprised when companies are thrown together to feed on the bounty while it’s available? Without all these hastily-formed ‘businesses’, Rudd’s insulation scheme could never have happened!

      Basically, the number of snouts in a trough will be proportional to the amount of food in the trough, especially if you demand that the food is eaten quickly.

      Whichever way you look at it, Rudd is to blame for this.

    • Pugilist says:

      04:24pm | 26/02/10

      I think this move by KRuddy should be called iSack 2.0.

      Reply

    • AM says:

      04:28pm | 26/02/10

      The Friday PM announcement is disgraceful.  The hollowmen would be proud of themselves.

      Reply

    • Rhys says:

      04:29pm | 26/02/10

      Nonsense. This whole thing is a massive media beatup.

      Since the project started there have been around 100 fires, before the project started there were 85 insulation fires per year. Taking into account that the program has provided 1.1million homes with rebates, and there were 70000 installations per year before the program was started you can see that this program has barely affected the incidence of insulation fires and has actually improved safety - the more than 1000% increase in installations has only increased fires by about 10%. (these numbers are all available from govt press releases and the ABS)

      Not to mention that one of the deaths was due to installer using metal clips after Peter had banned them, and another installer dying of heat exhaustion.

      This reshuffle is simply being done to silence the media storm over this complete non-issue.

      Reply

    • Chalks says:

      05:12pm | 26/02/10

      LOL. There were 70000 insulations per year previously, but how many were already insulated champ? Thats the proper comparison. Thanks for the laughs though. And the 100 fires are those supposed to be directly attributed to poor workmanship from fly by night operators who were paid for by taxpayer. You are the last of the true beleivers!!! LOL…again.

    • Rhys says:

      06:22pm | 26/02/10

      Chalks: http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollytics/2010/02/24/did-the-insulation-program-actually-reduce-fire-risk/ There is a more detailed explanation.

      If you are saying that existing stocks are a significant factor then it is actually even better for the program!

      Lets assume that the 85 per year figure before the program includes only about 10% of fires from new installations (just to stack the figures in favor of your argument) then that means that only 9 fires per year were caused by that 70k (1 in 7777)  number.
      Now we have 93 fires linked to the program with 1.1million installs which is 1 in 11828.

    • RMG says:

      01:29pm | 27/02/10

      Rhys - incompetence is incompetence!  It is a debacle that Rudd & Garrett should resign over.  Blaming the media and calling this a ’ COMPLETE non-issue’ is like praising Garrett as a ‘FIRST CLASS MINISTER’. 
      I wonder what the other ‘first class ministers’ are like in the cabinet? Rudd and his government is a national disgrace and history will record this.

    • Alice says:

      06:05pm | 27/02/10

      RMG
      Tell me RMG. When the same situation arose with the Sydney noise insulation scheme under Howard, why was the sub-contractor found to be at fault?
      By your logic the minister administering that scheme should have been sacked.
      Tell me why the proportion of insulation fires in relation to insulation installations has dropped with the scheme? The whole thing has been blown out of proportion.
      I first heard about insulation fires when our house was inspected 5 years ago.  The fire brigade inspector warned us about getting our house insulated & told us that a high proportion of housefires in the state were caused by incorrectly installed insulation coming in contact with downlights etc.

    • Scot says:

      08:12pm | 28/02/10

      Rhys, You do not get it do you. One death is too many and one house fire is too many. To increase the possibility through stupidity and incompetence is unforgivable. Rudd has already admitted publicly they have screwed up, this public fact. The Minister has been give his marching orders and will probably resign as soon as Sussex Street finds a new person to put in the seat. Rudd and Garret took the control for safety from the states, this is already admitted by Rudd and Garret and gave it to the Federal public servants, who dropped the ball and lied. Sounds familiar, just like NSW Labor. These Muppet’s are for the chop.

    • The SunCoast Wailer says:

      04:35pm | 26/02/10

      This is good news for the opposition.  Now they can attack Rudd for not sacking an incompetent Minister and then attack the Minister for not resigning.  A good opposition would be wringing their hands with delight.  Both Rudd and Garrett are weakened by this decision.  Time will tell if Abbott can take advantage of this.  Keating or Costello would have.

      Reply

    • KC says:

      04:45pm | 26/02/10

      I think Kerry O’Brien’s final question to Rudd on Thursday night was the best re lives lost and people sacked:
      “Who in your Government and in your bureaucracy is going to feel the pain they have felt and are feeling?”
      Garrett definitely won’t feel that pain.

      Reply

    • Mr Pastry says:

      04:48pm | 26/02/10

      Mr Rudd appears unable to make a hard decision when it is needed, his solution is a cop out.  Goodness knows what Garret is the minister of now , funny dancing perhaps?

      Reply

    • Bazza says:

      08:53am | 27/02/10

      He is now the Minister for Smoke and Mirrors.
      If that doesn’t work out he will form a new band called “Midnight Foil”

    • alan cotterell says:

      04:56pm | 26/02/10

      Let’s hope Greg Combet insists that in future all insulation installing companies must be certified to AS4801 - OHS Management System Certification! If a government programme is going to be abused by the GRUBS, something constructive must be done to avert another disaster

      Reply

    • Laughingatya says:

      05:08pm | 26/02/10

      I pay no attention to you David Penberthy either on here on on Foxtel, your obvious bias makes you simply unbelievable

      Reply

    • Ben says:

      06:21pm | 26/02/10

      No, clearly pay no attention at all mate. So much so that you just had to tell us that you clearly pay no attention. In fact, your complete farce of a waste of a joke of a comment to the general debate clearly indicates that you don’t care in the slightest what someone says when it doesn’t agree with you. Clearly. Now it’s Friday night, I have to stop not paying attention to you and start not paying attention to the beer waiting for me. Cretin.

    • Phil says:

      07:42pm | 26/02/10

      Pembo predicted and possibly spoke good of Rudd pre 07.

      He seems to have seen the light. (hope im right but time will tell)

      He even predicted a Rudd win in the election only a few weeks ago.

    • Steve of Cornubia says:

      07:56pm | 26/02/10

      Jeez mate, where have you been sleeping? I can assure you that Penbo is not well known for his right wing bias grin

      The fact that he has seen fit to write this piece reinforces my belief that Gillard will soon be promoted and David is just getting his ducks lined up.

      Reminds me of an old saying about rats and sinking ships.

      Sorry David, couldn’t resist! You know I’m only joking…....

    • Fabian says:

      09:09am | 27/02/10

      so why the post? Are you Peter Garrett or something? Here’s a bit more of the same thinking- ‘I’ve closed my eyes so you can’t see me’. Feel free to use it. No-one’s looking anyway. Labor is gone. Remember what Paul Keating said when he was Treasurer to Bob Hawke- ‘the people get the Government they deserve’. By that measure we are a sorry lot of bastards.

    • Ben says:

      11:20am | 27/02/10

      Not sure where that comes from, to me the fact that Penberthy sometimes writes things that makes me want to buy him a beer and other times makes me want to put him on a slow boat to antarctica shows he doesn’t really push any one political agenda.

    • Scot says:

      08:14pm | 28/02/10

      Laughingatya, hehehe very funny. How do you know D. P. is on Foxtel and writes a column in this paper, and why did you even bother to make a comment in these columns? Strange logic comrade,

    • twawki says:

      05:12pm | 26/02/10

      Gee the Labor government in trying to avoid a recession by their ineptitude and mismanagement will bankrupt us and send us into a worse one!

      Reply

    • Luke says:

      05:13pm | 26/02/10

      He’ll never sack Garrett, while Garretts on the front bench he has to do as he’s told, If he is moved to the back bench he might spill the beans on Rudd. It’s going to be very interesting times when Garrett leaves politics and tells us what was really going on behind the scene. I’m sure Rudd is well aware of that and will want to keep him right where he is.

      Reply

    • Steve of Cornubia says:

      07:50pm | 26/02/10

      Rudd is expecting that, his own shortcomings notwithstanding, by the time Garret tells all Rudd will be comfortably ensconced in an all-expenses-paid executive role at the UN, or in a senior Australian Ambassador’s job.

      >cough<  Beasley!

    • Tony says:

      05:18pm | 26/02/10

      A Friday afternoon sideways shuffle, with no chance of scrutiny in Question Time - not just very sneaky Kevin but very gutless!!! And No Apology from either you or ‘personality Peter.

      A one term Government if there ever was one.

      Reply

    • Sam Chowder says:

      05:19pm | 26/02/10

      Combi man gets Garretts keys to the ministers bathroom - he’ll need to check for the mess first.

      Reply

    • Jed says:

      05:20pm | 26/02/10

      1. Peter Garrett is still a Minister and will still be on the same pay scale.  Whilst he has less responsibility, he still retains his position
      2. Hundreds of people have been laid off because of this poorly constructed and managed scheme and more will probably follow.  A company cannot continue to employee people if there is no work and no money coming in
      3.  Hundreds of business owners may loose the houses that they used as surety to start their own installation business based on a government scheme.
      4.  The scheme was terminated with 3 hours notice with no alternative in place and there won’t be an alternative in place until 1st June. 
      5.  Due to the mismanagement of the scheme by the government millions of our money will be wasted on fixing it, let alone the millions that have gone before that has been misappropriated or squandered
      6.  How many other schemes has this government managed just as poorly that we don’t know about yet besides FuelWatch, GroceryWatch, Internet Filtering, Aboriginal Housing, School Building Scheme, Laptops for Kids, Installation Scheme, Solar Energy Scheme…All of the big ticket items it has announced so far
      7.  Billions have been spent by this government in a little over a 2 year period and there is little to show for it that will have any lasting affect on the betterment of this nation

      Reply

    • Steve says:

      03:29am | 28/02/10

      I loved that laptops for kids one. A promise plucked from the air in the dying hours of the election with no mention of how it would be done (additional training for school staff, extra infrstructure in schools to handle that many more computers etc). Here was are on the home stretch of their term and the school I’m associated with still hasn’t seen any new computers since before the election and not even a whiff of any laptops for students.

    • Darryl Price says:

      05:24pm | 26/02/10

      Subsequent to this announcement, the Government is still clinging to the line that Minter Ellison took note of and approved the compliance measures the Minister had in place on 9 April 2009. Clearly (or “plainly” in Ruddspeak) as laid out by Kerry O’brien last night, the state and territory agencies that were supposed to provide training and audits of work made it loud and clear during the teleconference on 29 April 2009 that they were not in a position to deal with the volume of work required. Yet the scheme continued, the warning was ignored. Risk Assessment 101 says that “controls” are put in place to managed “hazards” and reduce the “likelihood” of a negative outcome so that works can proceed at an “acceptable level of risk”. The lack of provision of “controls” should have been picked up on reflection or re-evaluation of the “effectiveness of the controls”. By definition, this scheme has been “out of control”.

      Reply

    • Andrew says:

      08:34pm | 27/02/10

      There is one problem with that Minter Ellison report and Peter Garrett’s compliance measures. Peter Garrett said he didn’t read the report until Feb this year nearly 9 months or so after the report was given to him. So how did he set up the compliance system if he didn’t read the report that outline the risks to the program?

    • Con says:

      05:42pm | 26/02/10

      Rudd and Garrett are both incompetent. I’m just happy and warm inside knowing that history will leave them a shameful legacy of broken promises and hollow policies that has left us none the better.

      Reply

    • chrissy says:

      06:41pm | 26/02/10

      yes and it will leave us all penniless!
      Mia Culpa says Mr Rudd, sure that is why we are the ones paying for it!

      Stand by for more massive spending to buy our votes then huge taxes by stealth to repay it all.

    • marty says:

      05:46pm | 26/02/10

      I agree Rhys its a massive media beat up the metal fasteners where outlawed after the man DIED ? or was it used all the time in the Insulation industry ?

      Reply

    • Brad Coward says:

      06:04pm | 26/02/10

      How can they sleep when beds are burning ????  Mr Rudd and Mr Garrett are both as weak as piss !  Am I allowed to say that ?

      Reply

    • Berndt Graz says:

      07:03pm | 26/02/10

      Of course you are . . . Coward.  If you all want to live in a Nanny State where everyone is protected from every eventuality (eg shonky operators work resulting in death) then piss off (am I allowed to say that?) to America an live in litigation heaven.

    • Pricey says:

      09:22pm | 26/02/10

      Apparently so…. And with good grounds.

      I can here the song now;

      If the minister responsible
      won’t come to my rescue,
      If the Prime Minister and government responsible
      Won’t save me,
      Who’s gunna save me.
      Who’s gunna save me

      We’ve got nothing fear

      In the end the Rudd comes down
      In the end the farce comes down
      Watch us pave the streets
      of this pink batt town.

    • Bruce says:

      09:35pm | 26/02/10

      No Brad you can not say that. More like “gummy marshmallow” toothless, gutless, teethless pussy cats !!

    • LJ says:

      09:38pm | 26/02/10

      Your comments aren’t strong enough for this incompetent bunch.

    • stephen says:

      02:56am | 27/02/10

      No you’re not, and i was surprized Mr. Garrett was appointed in the first place. He’s a Lawyer and a pop-star (no conflict there), so he has been trained to perform.
      And perform he does, but I never believe him under interview, as he does not appear to think out a question. (Though he has learnt his lines.)
      I don’t think he has an instinct for any sort of Public Service.
      And what he actually says with regard to policy appears to me very unsophisticated. He’s either in the wrong Party, or the wrong job.

    • John L says:

      10:12am | 27/02/10

      You said it but your only saying what most of us are now thinking. What kev07-outby11 was saying in not so many words was that he/they underestimated the huge task of running the nation and they were not up to the job. He may well try to blame the GFC for his woes but as we have heard just this last week from Stevens of the reserve bank that it was one of the mildest of recessions Australia had ever experienced. We can see now for the most part Rudd’s stimulus package has been a waste of tax payers money. After 2 years we now have a massive dept burden on our shoulders where we once had a surplus. For sure kev07-outby11 the buck stops with me prime minister you have when you do not have a Prime Minister who will guide us all into paying more tax’s with less services because or the recession we had when we did not have a Recession is enough to make any man p##s##d off.

    • Propaganda Fulltime says:

      06:31pm | 26/02/10

      Good one David Penberthy,keep up the anti Labor hysteria,Mr Murdock will be so proud of you.

      Reply

    • John Crane says:

      06:35pm | 26/02/10

      This is w hat happens when we elect people who have no idea how to manage. Mr Rudd can take responsibility does that mean he will resign as he should when he states he failed.
      The true fact of the matter is here is huge amount of money, an National investment and it has failed, or part of it has failed.
      Heads must roll, to make a point that all dept heads, Ministers and others who take responsibility take with it accountabilty.
      We as share holders in the Nation of Australia should demand the sacking of the ceo and the board of directors.
      But what I also want to know, what will occur to the rats that came out of the wood work and the sewers to satisfy their greed.
      Surely action has to taken against them, or is it that so many rats came out of the woodwork and the sewers that they will be impossible to find.

      Reply

    • Ben says:

      06:35pm | 26/02/10

      I think I would have to score this about even for both Rudd and Abbott. Rudd did what any politician worth his salt would do and buried the news at the end of the week amongst the revelations about Mossad falsifying identities to achieve intelligence outcomes (c’mon, what do people expect them to do, use their real names?), and cleverly put ten days between this and any possible QT scrutiny.

      Abbott did as much as he could to attack Rudd and Garrett without seeming like a heatseeking ‘Latham’ missile and perhaps ended a touch ahead for the week. BUT, the announcement of a ‘new’ department to oversee the dismantling of a failed scheme, costing extra untold millions, should be manna from heaven for Abbot.

      The next fortnight will hopefully prove to be the real beginning of Rudd’s anus horibilis

      Reply

    • Furious!!!!! says:

      06:36pm | 26/02/10

      We don’t need a world recession,
      we are about to have our very own Labor gov recession.
      can you imagine if the ETS had gone through?

      Mr Rudd is responsible? I reckon he sure is!
      So let him pay for everything.
      No we will.
      I think this is an outrage.
      What price the misery let alone the expense.
      I am not a hater but I will make an exception.
      Mr Rudd and your band of lying thugs are trashing our Country !
      I hate you!
      Get out!!!!!!

      Reply

    • Kate says:

      06:55pm | 26/02/10

      The real shame in all of this is that what was trying to be achieved is now viewed by the vast majority as a negative, and that is green incentives! How can the public be convinced that moving towards a sustainable future is a positive step forward when clowns like the current government stuff up something so inconceivably straight forward?
      As monumental a stuff up as it was I guess we must give them something for trying? Nah bugger that, they have done more harm than good. Lives, house and job losses -  nup, doesn’t get much grimmer than that! Vote with your feet people, kick this government to the kerb!

      Reply

    • eye4aneye says:

      07:15pm | 26/02/10

      got this in an e-mail and thought it was funny:

      Midnight foil - the batts are burning

      On a serious note fire the man don’t leave him in nuetered limbo. let him get on with his life and please attempt to put someone competant (if you can find any politicians that actually are) in the role.

      Reply

    • ILK says:

      07:39pm | 26/02/10

      Why don’t they scrap the whole bloody thing and put the money into the hospitals, it’s better to be well than cool!

      Reply

    • rogerm says:

      07:41pm | 26/02/10

      can we please have the early election,I have a baseball bat left over from giving Keating the Don’t Come Monday & I’ll be happy to trot it out for this bunch of work experience fools.

      Reply

    • Peter Barker says:

      07:44pm | 26/02/10

      Wow Is this the first time that an Australian prime minister and his mate from the front bench have actually admitted that are guilty of manslaughter and probable willful damage. ( aparently they both knew what was going on and did nothing just to save face)
      What is going to happen when the rest of the money chuck projects are finalised and the truth comes out on them.
      Bet they do not finish behind bars like any other company head would .
      The whole thing is frightening to think that this wonderful country is being run by ametures and posers.
      Reminds one of when they make the town drunk the sheriff in an old western.
      The sad factor is that people are dead and cherished homes are lost through sheer incompetence. The majority of Australians work their whole life to pay for a home and raise a family. Homes are lost and familly members are gone forever.
      Will the both of them have to help pay restitution out of their own pocket?
      Doubt it as they still have heaps more money earmarked to go to other hair brained projects Let the experts do this not actors and rock stars..

      Reply

    • Martyn50 says:

      08:06pm | 26/02/10

      Heck Mr Garrett can’t even pass legislation to ban plastic shopping bags.

      Reply

    • stevedbay says:

      08:07pm | 26/02/10

      TRY AGAIN seems first post was too honest and was rejected .
      Why would Any Political party that had Australias best Interests at heart employ a So Called Rock identity i loathe to use the word Star , if this was in another country we would call it rigged , But there we are Pete Garrett Is the Man with the Title and what a dogs breakfast he has made of the portfolio along with the rest of the Government , We need to get rid of the labour Govt right NOW . its like timewarp 1975 with the silly old likeable Gough Whitlam   Remember Him ????  hope this one passes the censors

      Reply

    • B S Goh says:

      08:08pm | 26/02/10

      Personally I think Mr Garrett has been let down by some civil servants on the insulation of houses.
      I hope he can do the right thing on another hot public issue. This is the question of Japanese harvest of Minke whales. The Government must get the best scientific advice here otherwise there are several very negative fallout from this issue.
      I am a whale scientist and I regret to say that the Japanese harvest of Minke whales is the correct way to prevent the extinction of the majestic Blue whales which is in extreme danger because of global warming.
      The Minke whales are now more than its original population in 1868 when the Blue whales were decimated from over 200000 to now 5000. Minke competes with the Blue whales for krill which has declined more than 50% since the 1970s due to global warming.
      I am not the only whale scientist in favor of controlled culling of the Minke whales. The latest IWC proposal calls for renewed harvesting of Minke whales and Hammond the Chair of the Scientific Committee of IWC resigned in 1993 because he was in favor of harvesting the Minke whales. Politicians please listen to these scientific views on preventing the extinction of Blue whales.

      Reply

    • Front Row says:

      08:42pm | 26/02/10

      This is more about Mr Garrett’s willingness to “play the game” to ensure at least some measurable results. There have been hundreds and hundreds.
      Here’s a bloke who has worked for years in a business that meant that the details were always looked after by someone else. With The Office, he had a AAA team.  Sadly, that kind of care does not come with others hiring in party hacks and then hoping that he would step and shine when the ideas were there.
      Most of us love Pete, he just chose the wrong job for the right reasons.
      To the Minster: There’s no shame, Peter,you have carried the crap. Now,  maybe just move into something real. Trust yourself again. You’re more than worth any of these try-hards.

      Reply

    • Steve says:

      08:50pm | 26/02/10

      this truely is a coalition voters website

      Reply

    • Dave Barbagallo says:

      09:00pm | 26/02/10

      I don’t care what anyone says: he’s a fabulous dancer.

      Reply

    • Ron says:

      09:19pm | 26/02/10

      So does he still draw his massive Ministers salary even though his duties have been lightened significantly?

      Reply

    • Brett says:

      09:21pm | 26/02/10

      In my 20 years of following politics I have never had such disrespect for a government. Garrett is a baboon, and Rudd is a programmed mouth piece that talks nothing but cliché. To allow any person with an ABN, no prior knowledge of the skills, or the materials to install insulation and then claim the rebate was totally dangerous. And to make the matter worse, to pay a fortune to a consulting company and then forget to read their advice not to go ahead with the program as it was currently constructed.  We keep a guy like that as our elected Minister? In Brisbane alone imports of insulation went from 560 containers into Brisbane Port prior to the rebate to 6,200 containers in the same time span after the rebate was announced. Was there no foresight from the government? Even though the programme has been scraped for now, and the insulation companies have all this useless imported stock the Government still collected all the Customs Duty and GST from it.
      And to think now Rudd will check some of the houses. Check for what? Exposed wires? But what if the wires become exposed in 5 years from rats or possums then? More people will die from this. You Garrett and Rudd are a bunch of selfish clowns who don’t deserve your positions. Most small business operators could have done a better job of this.

      Reply

    • Jonesy says:

      09:23pm | 26/02/10

      I just think the voters in Garrett’s electorate should be taken out and publicly flogged for being sucked in and voting the arseclown in!

      Reply

    • Radical Chick says:

      09:36pm | 26/02/10

      Abbott should take full advantage of this poor decision. This is shameful to Garrett but while he is there he will still be criticized. So will Rudd as a weak leader who cannot take a decision in his life.
      Abbott should make the next week all about his new ideas on curbing expenditure.
      And then go for blood when Parliament resumes…the opposition is growing and I am no longer willing to predict a Labor victory in the election.

      Reply

    • brett says:

      09:37pm | 26/02/10

      What the government should do now is this: Send a letter to all the companies that claimed the rebate: In the letter it should say that they should go back and check their work. Because the government will be doing an audit and inspection of homes claimed for. If any home is found to be compromised in safety from the insulation the company will be fined $10,000.00. Now these insulation companies don’t have much else to do at the moment so it’s a good chance to go back and check those shoddy jobs.
      The government wants to just give the companies 25 million dollars for nothing, well make them work it by checking the homes.

      Reply

    • KD says:

      11:01pm | 26/02/10

      oh look…. all 20 liberal voters in the same space ... and all agreeing with each other ...talk about spin

      Reply

    • John says:

      05:18pm | 27/02/10

      KD,
            check the national media! This issue trancends the party political.
      It’s a bloody scandal!

    • christian Real says:

      02:11am | 27/02/10

      DAVID , I do not believe that Peter Garrett or the Government should be blamed for the Employers of the Insulation workers,because they are the ones that are responsible for the training and the safety of their workers under the workplace health and safety act.
      I have been off work for the past three months due to an injury at work which also required and operation.  I am not blaming the government for it though,because the duty of care lies with my employees, not with the government.
      Regardless of what ever industy that you work in the duty of care lies with the employer,and theyy are responsible for the training and the safety of their own workers,it is not the government’s responsibility to babysit the workers and next people like Abbott will expect the government to wipe all the workers noses and bottoms as well.

      Reply

    • Edward James says:

      02:43am | 27/02/10

      Garret was not sacked but the voters can fix that in the very near future.

      Reply

    • Swinging Voter says:

      06:02am | 27/02/10

      Lots of people made lots of money on this scheme. I know of one person who set up a business and has made over a million. Guess what most of his installers are paid cash in hand. It would be interesting to see how many businesses did the same. Yep the scheme wasn’t run well at all and Garret should have been sacked completely, but businesses need to take some of the responsibility as well.
      Also the naming in parliament of a business apparently which has been ongoing for 15 years and now has no work because of the cancellation of the insulation scheme??? What did this firm do before the scheme???

      Reply

    • Brett says:

      09:57pm | 28/02/10

      swinging voter, “what did they do before the rebate” The rebate brought forward years and years of work that would have normally been done by those reputable companies. You see this was an unnatural market that has been flooded by free product. Who in their right mind will buy insulation after the rebate in over?  And who will buy Insulation now knowing it will be free again in 6 months. The industry is now stuffed for at least 10 years or more.

    • Justin says:

      06:29am | 27/02/10

      Garrett’s laughing - minister for fluffies & luvvies, what an awesome job! As long as he can avoid listening to speeches by Cate Blanchett (she went to NIDA you know) & avoid getting soiled while cuddling koalas, he’ll be right.

      Reply

    • Seano says:

      07:10am | 27/02/10

      A demotion is not a sacking but it is more than we got under Howard. Abbott has no one else to blame, he and his cronies set the standard. We deserve better from both sides.

      Reply

    • John L says:

      08:17am | 27/02/10

      So we pay heaps to installers to install insulation in a dodgy way then when it goes wrong, we pay the same shonky people “compemsation” ? Good country Australia!

      Reply

    • Ryan says:

      09:14am | 27/02/10

      By not sacking Garrett and keeping him on at the same pay but with fewer portfolios, Rudd is just trying to turn the country against Garrett for now to take the recent (ongoing) heat off of Mr Conroy and his wretched filter and absolute lack of progress on election promices we were interested in like high speed broadband.  We want faster internet access, not a SLOWER connection that will give us less information.

      Reply

    • Timmo says:

      09:20am | 27/02/10

      I’m glad that we have some laws in Australia otherwise it would be back to the old cruxifictions, burning at the stake, stoning etc. Bless those laws that save the different thinking ones from all you blood thirsty b??????s out there. Good God botherers all!. Pathetic is the word to be used for all the negative commenters here. Peter Garrett is just another sacrificial lamb on the altar of Conservative opinion, which is always right and true according to them. Why Peter Garrett would even bother to be a politician and demean himself has got me bewildered. He should just resign and let them all have it. Not worth it Pete, just not worth it. Just invest your money that you made through your talents and sit back and enjoy the rest of your life. You don’t need the Golden Handshake. The Abbott and his ilk do and that’s what they’re doing it for!. Good luck to you Peter, don’t get depressed, you are already more successful than any of them. Go back to your music, it’s great. We all love you at our place.

      Reply

    • Denn says:

      09:30am | 27/02/10

      Priests got transferred when caught by public abusing children.  Garrett gets transferred when caught abusing taxpayers money.  Rudd is micro-manager and probably pushed Garrett, possibly against Garrett’s better judgement, to rush, rush, rush - be seen to be doing something instead of sitting back and waiting a bit more calmly as Opposition wanted to do.  Talk about ‘Fools rush in’ and this is only the beginning.  We won’t have to wonder much longer what’s it’s like to live in a 3rd world country with Labor in control of the tattered Public Purse.

      Reply

    • Grumbles says:

      10:04am | 27/02/10

      The “Midnight Oil” has burnt out. I wonder who dresses him in the morning?
      He seems incapable of achieving anything in his former portfolio.

      Out of sheer embarrassment he should pick up his guitar and disappear into the oil.

      Reply

    • Timmo says:

      09:51am | 28/02/10

      Hey Grumbles, Have you looked in the mirror lately, and have you swept up you own backyard lately. Get that done have a look at yourself and then if perfect make a comment without your self righteous attitude. You, of course in putting yourself up higher than Peter must be capable of dressing yourself and very capable of achieving everything known to man. And of course, you would be a better guitarist and singer as well. Talk about up yourself. Keep Grumbling away there mate as no one is listening to you apart from your mates on here. And the World and Universe don’t care about your opinion matey as you are just a blip on the radar like the rest of us. Get over it.!!

    • jim Sarkapinus says:

      10:51am | 27/02/10

      For gods sake. Go easy on Kevin.
      It was a Friday afternoon and he had to do something.
      The other alternative Kev had was to arrange a bunch of TV actors, sport stars and models, bus them to Canberra for a think tank and initiate a roll out action plan (ROAP) and hand to Pete.

      This country is in an absolute mess with absolute whalf-wits at the wheel and the sad thing is, these idiots and their inabilities were as clear as mud at the election.

      Reply

    • Matthew says:

      12:14pm | 27/02/10

      KRudd in an interview allegedly said “I am really disappointed with myself, I take full responsibility ... The Buck stops with me ...... mate over here, Petey ... You’re fired ... Well demoted ... well not really, you’ll still get the same amount of cash ... just go take care of that plant over there would you.”

      Reply

    • Terry Pokorny says:

      01:34pm | 27/02/10

      Rudd has just mooned the people of Australia by pretending to demote the Peter Principle from his level of incompetence.

      Reply

    • acker says:

      02:24pm | 27/02/10

      I think Kev knows thet Peter Garrett is the reason a lot of Labor voters are not voting for the Greens and if he sacks him they will lose most of those voters. If Turnbull and Garrett join the Greens in the lower house, Labor might end up eventualy becoming a minor party.

      Reply

    • thatmosis says:

      03:16pm | 27/02/10

      The Government blames fly by night installers but in reality it is fly by night minister or the Labor facsimily of a Minister who disregarded the warnings and rushed a scheme into place that was from day one doomed to failure.The millions that have been wasted would have gone a long way to helping the appalling waiting lists at hospitals or actually hiring teachers who can teach our children. This government by its own admission doesnt dot the I’s or cross the T’s but gallops head long into the valley of death and then tries to buy its way out with more tax payers money when it goes pear shaped. Bets on how long this new Hospital Watch site lasts and how much it is going to run over budget, any takers???????

      Reply

    • John says:

      05:01pm | 27/02/10

      Garrett was ‘spared’ by Rudd for 3 reasons: Namely Arbib, the Arts vote, and the Green vote. Think about it!!

      Reply

    • John Crane says:

      05:36pm | 27/02/10

      It is important that people see this huge mess as bad management .
      But the worst of it is is bad management with tax payers money or is it borrowed Chinese money which we will have to pay back with interest.
      The only trouble is this investment that was badly managed will have to spend a couple of interest payments on fixing the mess.
      Surely the public must now be aware that some other service will have money ripped out of it so interest payments will be met.
      People laugh at Barnaby Joyce and his nett debt but I suggest do not laugh to loud. Even Australia cannot afford to have huge stuff ups like this and not get financially hurt. Money does not grow on trees it has to be earnt and not squandered by fools.

      Reply

    • fehowarth says:

      06:56am | 28/02/10

      I believe if the public was really worried about their roofs being dangerous, they would get a electrition to check the wiring.  I have seen no evidence that this is happening.  At ther end of the day, the problem is shonky wiring and lights , not the government.  Poor workmanship is easy to locate, you only have to put your head above the manhole.  There should be a drive for better circuit breakers that are on all circuits in the home. Standards for lights and other ceiling appliances need to be revised.  Are there 90,000 fires caused by insulation or are there 90,000 homes that had fires where there is insulation.  Was this insulation new or old.  What enquiry has blamed the government for the deaths.

      Reply

    • Timmo says:

      07:58am | 28/02/10

      Why don’t you all get over yourselves. If you can run it better then step into the ring of Bull???t. I’m sure all the negative commenters would do a better job. Maybe we need Jesus to run it, but even he would not be good enough. This Country has been the host of many useless governments from both sides since federation. Labour has a better record. When the S??t is about to hit the fan such as the Howard and Bush sub-prime problem then guess what, labor gets in and has the carry their mismanagement and they, the howards run down the road breathing a sigh of relief. World wars passed to Labor as well. Labor usually pulls the troops on these useless wars that the liberal party gets us involved in. How much is that costing us per day.? How many killed there in Iraq and Afghanastan?. No whinging for them is there.!  This country has had over the years many deficits and surpluses and is still going strong. Yes, people, we have never gone broke and the possibility of that happening in the near future is very slim. A very wealthy country we are, but it is like a household. Sometimes More money and sometimes less. So I don’t know what everyone goes on about. We will still be running ok for a good long time into the future. Peter Garrett is not responsible for the deaths of the so called tradesman and it is pretty low to even think that way. Doesn’t look like a killer to me. Those people got killed because they forgot to turn off the power supply to houses while working in the ceilings. Anyway most houses have Paper Insulation on top of the rafters and this keeps heat out and the roof dry inside. Why not change the method to whirlygigs on top of the roofs and ventilate the walls with thru flow systems. It would be cheaper and just as efficient. Hopefully no one would fall off the roof or ladder and kill themselves, but don’t worry now you can blame Greg Combet. Hah!!!

      Reply

    • BensonBird says:

      10:35am | 28/02/10

      well said, the reality is most people got alot of free insulation and work installing it for nothing.  It was an OHS matter with employers having little or no regard for their employees and customers. Kevin Rudd has stepped up like a man and taken the blame. I really admired him for that, the Liberals lied and lied to us and are still lying. You never heard John Howard get up and say “I am responsible ” for anything And I doubt Tony Abbott is a big enough man to do that either, he seems to worried about sex and virginity and targeting the disabled. He will work us till we are 70 years old , from the classroom to the grave. People are getting bored with these constant attacks. there is an old adage The Liberals really should learn “You catch more flies with honey than vinegar” we are overdosed on the vinegar

    • Timmo says:

      08:16am | 28/02/10

      I have noticed that George Bush’s proctologist has not made any positive comments towards the Greatness implied for Tony Abbott, the failed former finance minister. And even previous Treasurer Peter Costello has bagged him as being basically useless. Now these People were supposed to be the Greatest in their fields weren’t they?. Why doesn’t the punch ask for their, hmmm, honest opinion on how their successors would have run the insulation programme. I’m sure no one would have got killed if they were running it. Get a life negative commenters.

      Reply

    • Mr Pastry says:

      03:32pm | 28/02/10

      I have a life - who do you think does the typing?

    • Christian Real says:

      09:29am | 28/02/10

      David, Tony Abbott and his bandwagon of radical supporters are calling for Peter Garretts sacking and yet, as A Minister under the previous Liberal Government stood silently by while the then Prime Minister John Howard failed to sack Ministers that had done wrong. Is this showing that Tony Abbott has a double standard by calling for the sacking of Peter Garrett and condoning the wrong doings of Minister in the previous Liberal Government that he was part of.
      I found this news item at http://www.greenleft.org.au/2007/703/36511
      And these are the Minister’s that Howard failed to sack:

      1)Warwick Parer,Resources Minister, failed to declare his shareholdings in the resource sector, but Howard refused to sack him
      2)Warren Entsch did not declare his directororship of a concrete company that won a large Government contract without tender, but John Howard refused to sack him
      3)Peter Reith lent his tax payer funded telecard to people who made $50,000 worth of calls and also lied over the children overboard affair, but John Howard refused to sack him
      4)When Phillip Ruddock and Amanda Vanstone,as Immigration Ministers,  wrongfully detained or deported people in 200 cases, but John Howard refused to sack them
      5) Helen Coonan mislead Parliament over her interests regarding an investment property, but failed to disclose her directorship of a public company , but John Howard refused to sack her
      6) Alexander Downer and Mark Vaile were embroiled in the AWB scandal, but John Howard refused to sack them

      And Tony Abbott in another news item that I found online, ‘Howard Knew of slush fund to target Hanson’,written by Mike Seccombe, on August 27,2003 and I found it at : http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/08/26/1061663793191.html and it looks as though Abbott breached the code of conduct, but again the then Prime Minister John Howard failed to sack him also
      “The Prime Minister,John Howard, was aware of a $100,000 clandestine trust fund set up by Workplace Relations Minister, Tony Abbott,to bankroll legal action against Pauline Hanson and One Nation.”
      “But it appears Mr Abbott could be in breach of his leader’s code of conduct,because he did not formally notify Mr Howard until three months after it began”
      And jn another paragraph reads:
      “The fund was set up in late August,11998,but not declared until December 3.”

      It appears that Mr Abbott condones the practice of Prime Minister’s refusing to sack Ministers for breaches, but only if it is a Liberal Prime Minister that is doing it. This appears to show that by calling for the sacking of Peter Garrett , Mr Abbott has shown that he has double standards,one rule for the Liberal Party,and a different set of rules for all other Political parties.

      Reply

    • Bruce says:

      04:23pm | 28/02/10

      Christian: good read, nothing new. However, politicians both state and federal have been been commiting double standards since time began. The problem for any politician is “how to get away with it”. This is what makes politics such a joke. All political parties engage and try on this behaviour. For every example you give the opposing side can come up with there version. Peter Garretts real problems is, “how does he get away or gloss over his current problem”. One could argue this will show if Peter Garrett is a good politician and can walk past his current problem, retain his job, and his party and leader keep faith in him.

    • Brett says:

      10:02pm | 28/02/10

      In comparison with above, I think 4 deaths, others burnt by electrcity, 100 house fires,  job loses, business bankruptcies, 400,000 potentially deadly homes, disregarded warnings. Somehow your Liberal examples don’t match it..

    • ant says:

      02:14pm | 28/02/10

      I would love know know exactly who said what and to whom.  Garrett has a great big department full of professional people who should have been able to set up this scheme competently, but evidently that didn’t happen.  Why isn’t the department coming in for some scrutiny? What was their role in this? The secretary, lately recruited from the NSW public service, surely has some responsibility?

      Reply

    • Christian Real says:

      02:18pm | 28/02/10

      David, made a typo error towards the last part of my comment , it should have read as follows:
      And in another paragraph reads:
      “The fund was set up in late August, 1998, but was not declared until December 3”

      Reply
 
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