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Looking back on 12 months of fatal inaction

Greg Hunt

by Greg Hunt

25 Oct 05:35am

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Filed under: Greg Combet, Insulation, Peter Garrett, Pink Batts, Politics

59 comments

Twelve months ago today I released a video blog warning of the dangers of the Home Insulation Program.

Was he seriously the only one who didn't know? Picture: Kym Smith

Back then, Peter Garrett’s office had been denying a link between his program and house fires.  Astonishing to believe, given the some 200 fires we have now.  It was when there had been only one tragic loss of a young installer.  Three more would follow.

But by then, the avalanche of problems of safety hazards, rorting and waste were being made very clear to my office.  Which is why, 12 months ago, I warned in the video: “You also have a risk of fires …  Pink batts on down-lights equal fires …you have the risk of electrocution for people who aren’t trained … There are risks of further tragedies.”

Like many MPs, radio stations and no doubt Garrett himself, I was receiving numerous reports of rorting and dodgy or dangerous jobs. 

This was a sufficient national scandal in August 2009 that the Opposition was driven to call for an urgent Auditor-General’s inquiry back then to stop the fraud, fires and safety risks before it was too late.

We did not have special information - everybody knew - and most importantly he knew.  So why did it take another four months, hundreds of million of dollars, many house fires and three more tragic deaths for him to finally work out that the program was a dud? 

Garrett opposed my calls twice for an Auditor-General’s inquiry into his mess.  When Greg Combet was handed the insulation ‘sandwich, he didn’t make the same mistake.

That report is now down.  Damningly, it found that Garrett’s department had sought five years to roll out the program to avoid the problems that rush and haste create. 

That advice was ignored.  Instead the $2.7 billion Home Insulation Program was unleashed by a Government desperate for orange vest-photo opportunities.  And then somehow they were surprised, when the problems their department and the insulation industry warned about before the program, happened.

Julia Gillard repeated the mistake of many when she said the Auditor’s report simply blamed Garrett’s department and that somehow he was in the clear.  Sure there were problems in the department. It was chaotic in there.

They were desperately trying to manage ‘pink batts on super steroids’.  It was also a time when the officers were also trying to manage the Green Loans and Solar Panels programs that were unravelling.

But the truth is that it was just not the remit of the Auditor’s office to make specific findings against the Minister.  They were asked only to examine problems in the implementation of a program by the agency.

Not the actions of the Minister, Cabinet or Prime Minister who blindly imposed that mess on them.  Not whether the Government was right to ignore the industry and public warnings.  Not what secret documents that demonstrate ministerial ineptitude should be released.

Not the actions or non-actions of a Minister in relation to the house fires and four tragic deaths.  No, these were not the remit of the Auditor-General.  That is why I want a judicial inquiry to get to the bottom of who was really responsible there.

To fully understand the Auditor-General’s report, one has to connect the dots and follow the footprints. 

The report made it clear the department warned of the risks of rushing this program; told us bad things would happen if things were rushed; told us the Minister and Cabinet rejected this advice; and told old us the warnings came true.  Then somehow, according to Julia Gillard, it’s the department’s fault.

Looking back at this video blog from 12 months ago is chilling, knowing now the tragedies, fires, and catastrophic waste of taxpayers’ funds that followed.  If the risks were obvious to me then, why weren’t they obvious to the Minister?

Twelve months on, lives, families and businesses still lie in ruin because of the Home Insulation Program.  But the man in charge of it retains the salary and perks of Cabinet, thanks to the PM.  She promoted Peter Garrett and bought his silence.

Watch the video or read the transcript of the blog released on 25 October 2009 by clicking here.

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59 comments

Show oldest | newest first

    • Doug Rhodes says:

      05:32am | 25/10/10

      Another political stuff up…don,t worry mate we are used to it. In fact Howard,s deceit into entering middle eastern wars is an even better example of Policy that kills.  Trying to make political mileage from unintended tragedy is absolutely the lowest act of gutter politics,get a life and do something to help the people you serve.

      Reply

    • It's not going Away says:

      07:33am | 25/10/10

      So you want us all to forget what happened?  You want us to allow those families to spend the rest of their lives without their loved ones?  You want our politicians to sweep it under the carpet?  You don’t want us to get to the real truth? You don’t want us to know who ignored what information?  Which contacts were not taken seriously?  You think that the Minister and his colleagues can disappear from that disgusting episode in Australian political history?

      You’re dreaming.

    • MarK says:

      07:53am | 25/10/10

      Yeh Dougie go go go.

      Nothing like getting some political mileage. That’s the reason for the war. There is no other possible explanation.

      I love the “unintended tragedy” bit. What an amazing turn of phrase to dissolve responsibility for the warned outcome by the fall guy.

      It was “unintended” so that makes it all better. No blame. Quick move along. Nothing to see here. Just the usual.

    • TimB says:

      08:03am | 25/10/10

      Doug he DID do something to help. Very first sentence in the article:
      “Twelve months ago today I released a video blog warning of the dangers of the Home Insulation Program.”

      It was ignored. Because the twits in charge took the exact same dismissive attitude you just did.  “Oh it’s just a Liberal playing politics, we don’t have to take his warning seriously at all…besides it will look bad for us.”

      Dismissing potential threats to the saftey of Australian workers on the basis of political expediency? That’s the true gutter politics.

    • acotrel says:

      08:04am | 25/10/10

      ‘We did not have special information - everybody knew - and most importantly he knew.  So why did it take another four months, hundreds of million of dollars, many house fires and three more tragic deaths for him to finally work out that the program was a dud?  ‘

      It wasn’t the programme which was a dud, it was the Australian private sector which couldn’t handle a simple job of work without killing people or even achieving the basic quality requirements!  I call loud and clear for more regulation of ‘entrepreneurs’!

    • Lisa H. says:

      11:52am | 25/10/10

      Don’t blame ‘entrepreneurs’ with such a broad brush, acrotrel.
      The fact is, industry people were warning the government of such issues with safety and were barked down as having ‘ulterior motives’.
      This is a government responsibility, fair and square. Encouraging any idiot with an ABN the right to install insulation, with an emphasis on cheap cheap cheap, was always going to be a recipe for disaster.
      And the ‘entrepreneurs’ who had invested in the industry before this circus knew it very well!
      Governments should stop engaging in cheap pig-swill politics in industries they know absolutely nothing about!

    • Cate P says:

      12:40pm | 25/10/10

      umm Doug, Greg Hunt was and is trying to do something to help the people he serves by holding the government to account.  He spoke out after the first tragic death of an intstaller and was ignored.  Its due to his diligence that the programme was eventually stopped - after 3 more tragic deaths - and safety inspections are taking place.

    • Lisa H. says:

      01:40pm | 25/10/10

      Cate, the most frustrating aspect of the inspections is that only the inspection is done! A report is written!
      My mother in law had her old fibro house insulated - the inspector said the installation was a mess - and when she asked when it was to be fixed, he said he just had to write a report. The ‘fixing it’ part was up to her!

    • Against the Man says:

      05:46am | 25/10/10

      Garrett is a big part of the Rudd legacy and current Gillard govenrment’s commitment to incompetence. Garrett and Rudd have to bear responsibility instead of running away like cowards. Gillard has to show some kind of leadership in this but seeing how the BER turned out I guess I don’t except much. We voted in crap and got what we deserve.

      Reply

    • DaveO says:

      12:27pm | 25/10/10

      1) Garrett needs to walk around in a ‘I’m sorry for the home insulation debacle’ T-shirt period. Why has this guy not been sacked?
      2) Rudd will only fight air hosties and create fantasy policies (remember the buck stops with me on health promise?).
      3) Gillard is as useful as a one legged dog and the voters have realised that sadly too late to do anything about it.

      This ALP government has already had its legacy smashed to bits, carrying on in shame is pathetic at best.

    • Jolanda says:

      07:03am | 25/10/10

      Ministers protect themselves by following a ‘process’ when receiving complaints.  The process involves asking the persons complained about for their ‘response’ and then accepting whatever they say on face value and deeming the matter closed.  So when those being complained about say that they are doing everything properly and those who are complaining are just vexatious or disgruntled that is accepted.  The complainants are discredited and ignored.  This process is used by all Government Departments.  Of course the Minister was just going on ‘what he was told’ so they avoid responsibility.  Crooks that they are.

      Education – Keeping them Honest
      http://jolandachallita.typepad.com/

      Reply

    • Pink Batt Accountability says:

      07:26am | 25/10/10

      Labor’s disrespectful silence on the pink batt debacle and sorrowfully on our four lost Australians is matched by Green/Independant silence. 
      The government was warned in writing about the badly managed taxpayer-funded program after Matthew Fuller lost his life. Why did they not suspend it then, only for three more Aussies to be killed?  The buck stopped with the Minister and his Cabinet, including PM Rudd and Deputy Gillard.  And why won’t the government release one particular letter, repeatedly requested and refused? If there is nothing to hide then “that” letter must be tabled as part of a judicial inquiry.

      I don’t believe that the union controllers circumvented Labor’s ongoing hideous record by moving Gillard into leadership. They must be held to account and the four Aussie lives zapped out must not be lost in what has become the Gillard political trainwreck.
      There is more attention by Gillard to appeasing her Green and Independant facilitators than meeting her duty of accountability by supplying the full and unabridged facts on Labor’s Pink Batt Horrors and why three more deaths happened after the government was warned.
      In the name of human decency the families who will live the rest of their days in misery deserve to see that the Australian public have not forgotten, will not forget and will not permit the government’s mismanagement to conveniently fade into insignificance. 
      We owe those families—- big time.

      Reply

    • Steve Putnam says:

      07:25pm | 25/10/10

      Of the four deaths during the insulation scheme, two occurred when the installers were working under the supervision of a licensed electrician. People get injured on building sites every day sometimes fatally. Do you seriously hold the government responsible for every death that occurs in any project that it funds?
      If you had a shred of compassion for any of the unfortunate families involved in in this matter you would stop banging the drum.  The truth is you just want to keep the issue alive so you can bash the government with it. If you had the courage of your convictions you would give your real name (as I do) instead the silly nom-de-plume you hide behind.

    • Stupified says:

      08:31am | 26/10/10

      @ Pink Batt Accountability

      Do you even have enough sense to realise that it was not pink batts that lead to these deaths?
      Your ignorance of even the simplest facts is astonishing.

    • Darren says:

      07:53am | 25/10/10

      Hey Greg - how many people have died in the building game since Big Jack howard gutted the rights of unions to investigate - maybe you and you mob should be charged with manslaughter - or if you meant for these people to die - murder?

      Reply

    • acotrel says:

      08:16am | 25/10/10

      Darren, Safety in the workplace depends on a level of industrial democracy.  John Howard really cared about that when he introduced Workchoices?  It was an attempt to shift the balance of power towards GRUB employers and away from the union OHS reps!

    • Trumpet says:

      03:30pm | 31/10/10

      What a crock; Unions don’t give a stuff about workers except to ensure they pay their dues. Parasitic unions are the cause of more workplace issues than any employers- by simply making workplaces so uncompetitive that employers cannot afford the ridiculous measures demanded by Unions…..which we know will not stop accidents as the cause of workplace accidents is worker negligence and laziness. 
      Workchoices was the first step towards a fair and just system; shifting the onus from employers to the employees who need to take responsibility for
      their own actions.  There is enough legislation already to protect anyone who takes their job and safety seriously. It is an absolute fact that more
      workplace accidents are caused by worker’s lack of care and attention, or
      just plain laziness than any systemic negligence in training or awareness, or simple risk.  To blame employers for worker negligence is typical of the mentality of the ignorant, lazy Union protected bludger pervading the Australian workplace, who is responsible for voting inept clowns like Garret into power in the first place.

    • MarK says:

      07:54am | 25/10/10

      Garrett is a reason to be thankful that the one term member for Bennelong didn’t get a gig running anything more important than smiling and nodding.

      Reply

    • acotrel says:

      08:35am | 25/10/10

      John Howard is appearing on Q&A tonight.  I’d like to ask him the following:
      Workplace safety depends on a level of industrial democracy.  Did John Howard consider that when he introduced Workchoices and shifted the balance of power towards employers, and awayfrom union OHS representatives?

      Reply

    • Mike T says:

      09:46am | 25/10/10

      Divert, Divert, Divert…......

      Dont you get sick of the same stratergy every day??

      If the Article is on workchoices, then debate workchoices. If the article is on pink bats then debate pink bats…. not that hard really. When a govt errs, to have the excuse that “they are worse” is not an excuse acotrel, its a diversion.

    • Jim says:

      01:15pm | 25/10/10

      Let him have his soapbox moments Mike T…old acotrel does more for the ever growing anti-union sentiments in this country than anyone else can each time he touches his keyboard smile

    • nosthow says:

      08:50am | 25/10/10

      Over 4000 cases of fraud in the private sector Greg - these were the people who the government entrusted to instal the insulation. Does that tell you something fella ? It should. By the way Greg are you putting your hat in the ring when the polls take Tony out ? Cant be long now.

      Reply

    • Mike T says:

      09:54am | 25/10/10

      No one is doubting the criminality of the fraudsters in the private sector. But does this excuse the governement of not acting when they are aware that it is occuring? or are you happy for them to stand by and say “not our problem”, please continue with the deaths and the rorts.

      You seem to forget that thats OUR money nosthow…... we should all be outraged that the govt knew that fraudsters where stealing it and the govt turned a blind eye.

    • Tim says:

      10:11am | 25/10/10

      The joke is, that if the Labor party introduced legislation to regulate these private businesses more closely, the Liberal party would be jumping up and down screaming about government interference in private enterprise.
      Can’t have it both ways fellas.

    • TimB says:

      10:47am | 25/10/10

      Tim, please my response to Acotrel below when he tried the same empty argument.

    • nosthow says:

      11:45am | 25/10/10

      @MarK - the polls Marky ? No election on at present old fella. Whilst Abbott is the Coalition leader Labor are safe . Did you get a TV yet Marky ?

    • David C says:

      12:02pm | 25/10/10

      Bob Ellis tells me Tony is a good man and Julia is around for another 5-15 months (this by the way was on your ABC) , seems to me Julia is the one that needs to worry

    • Lisa H. says:

      01:49pm | 25/10/10

      The fact is the Goverment strongly encouraged fly-by-nighters into the industry, because they claimed the established industry was not capable of delivering the ‘fast results’ they said they needed.

      Government actively commissioned the free-for-all!

      Established insulation supply companies, who could not or would not install at outlandish ‘bargain basement’ prices were left in the dust as a result of the government’s crazy scheme!

      Not only did the government commission a scheme that ended in the death of four young people, dangerous insulation and rorts, but they also trashed an established industry!

    • nosthow says:

      04:21pm | 25/10/10

      @David C - ask Bob Elliss for me what this weeks Powerball numbers are please - he seems to be a walking crystal ball hahahahhah

    • Wayne Fehlhaber says:

      09:02am | 25/10/10

      The warnings were conveyed directly to Garrett’s office .  The then Minister responsible for the program’s implementation chose expediency over safety and caution.  Homes burnt to the ground , tragedies occurred , businesses went to the wall .  Garrett duck shoved the responsibility on to state authorities .  Calls for a Auditor-Generals enquiry were ignored .

      In the face of these facts , there are those who still try to defend Labor’s incompetence and lack of management.
      There has never been a reckoning , the Minister responsible was rewarded with promotion and still sits in Cabinet.
      It is way past time for Garrett to be stripped of Ministerial responsibility and dropped from any decision making process.

      Reply

    • acotrel says:

      09:37am | 25/10/10

      Wayne, you are delusional if you believe that a federal minister can change the culture in the Australian private sector to one that recognises it’s duty of care!  Howard did more than any other person in our history,to stuff the relationship required to ‘do it right first time’!

    • MarK says:

      09:51am | 25/10/10

      Blame game acotrel with no factual basis.

    • TimB says:

      10:07am | 25/10/10

      Wayne, apparently there were rumours one or two ministers who Gillard was trying to demote threatened by-elections if she didn’t back off. Given the current state of the lower house, it’s not something she’s willing to risk.

      Once again the Labor mentality of power at any cost has won out.

    • acotrel says:

      10:11am | 25/10/10

      ‘No one is doubting the criminality of the fraudsters in the private sector. But does this excuse the governement of not acting when they are aware that it is occuring? or are you happy for them to stand by and say “not our problem”, please continue with the deaths and the rorts. ‘

      If the ALP had tried to implement the level of regulatory control necessary, the Liberal Party would have gone ape! GET REAL!

    • Jolanda says:

      10:16am | 25/10/10

      The thing is that our Government doesn’t want to change any culture in relation to the cover-ups of corruption and fraud as if they change the process used to deal with the private sector, then they will have to use the same process to deal with complaints against them and that means that they will be made to answer and held accountable.  The Government will avoid that any any cost!

      We must remember that laws are made by those in power to protect those in and with power.

      Education – Keeping them Honest
      http://jolandachallita.typepad.com/

    • TimB says:

      10:23am | 25/10/10

      “If the ALP had tried to implement the level of regulatory control necessary, the Liberal Party would have gone ape! GET REAL! “

      And your basis for that is what exactly Acotrel?

      Please stop making things up.

    • Wayne Fehlhaber says:

      02:30pm | 25/10/10

      Acotrel   :  ref your first comment…....if Garrett had not rushed the program - had made arrangements with the states for special regulation attention by state authorities to the federal program’s implementation - the tragedies would not have happened - homes would not have been destroyed - businesses would be solvent.

      All that was missing from the program was the Minister’s management.
      There is nothing delusional about that.

      Ref your second comment….......criminality of the fraudsters - if the program had been managed in it’s implementation there would not have been any fraudulent installations - far from going ape , the Liberal party would have backed safety measures to the hilt .

      Rather than making hysterical statements you would achieve far more by demanding that Gillard removes the incompetent Minister from his position.  As Tim B has pointed out , Gillard is terrified of losing power if a sacked Minister resigns and causes a by-election.
      Power at any cost - Labor mantra.

    • Jay says:

      09:34am | 25/10/10

      In my opinion, the insulation inspection scheme is just as flawed as the Home Insulation Programme.

      Reply

    • Nicole says:

      10:18am | 25/10/10

      The sad thing about that statement Jay, is it’s true. They’re all out to cover their own ass. Rudd, Gillard, Garrett and the dodgy installers should be hauled over the coals for this. But all will continue to play the blame game. It’s an absolute disgrace.

    • acotrel says:

      10:23am | 25/10/10

      Jay, you cannot inspect quality into a job!  The private sector stuffed the programme with a culture which only paid lip service to recognised quality and safety management principles! My son the engineer always votes Liberal, and even he admits the ‘FACTS’ about who is responsible!

    • acotrel says:

      10:33am | 25/10/10

      Tim B , have you never heard of the Australian Industry Group, VECCI, or the ACCI?  If you haven’t your beloved Liberal Party certainly has!  Try to regulate industry further, and that’s who Abbott will answer to!

    • Nicole says:

      10:41am | 25/10/10

      What are you saying acotrel? That Labor should take no blame in this disaster? The facts are that it was a Government programme and it should have been overseen by the Government, they screwed up and innocent people died. Seriously, take off those blinkers!

    • Mike T says:

      10:52am | 25/10/10

      @ Acotrel…. yep you are 100% correct the private sector stuffed up the program, as all and sundry knew they would.

      Would you lend $10,000 to a problem gambler then be outraged if he gambled it and lost your money!!!! Yes it’s his fault, but you would have to be an idiot it you did not think it was going to occur.

      You compalin that the ALP’s hands were tired because the libs would have roadblocked any legislation that was required to run the scheme effectivley…. ummmmm…here is two options that the ALP could have done that requires no change in legislation.

      1) Dont do it to start with!! (wow thats a great idea, to not implement a policy that has a VERY high risk of rorting and poor investment!)
      2) Stop it when it bacame obvious of the rorts/deaths

      dont know how you can continue to defend the indefensible….

    • Shane From Melbourne says:

      10:14am | 25/10/10

      On one hand, you have the Liberals complaining about government regulation and oversight of the private sector and then in cases like the insulation saga, you have them complaining about the lack of oversight. Talk about hypocrisy. (By the way breaches of OHS regulations are a state matter, not a federal matter but never let the facts get in the way of whinging and whining)

      Reply

    • acotrel says:

      04:58pm | 25/10/10

      Nicole, the ALP and the unions are clearly to blame.  They accepted a low standard of care from industry.  Didn’t demand management system certification for all industries as they start up, and they still permit GRUBS to employ pastry cooks, and bricklayers as boilermaker tradespeople on the Westgate Bridge in Melbourne. It’s a perpetuated ongoing problem, and it’s come home to roost in the insulation programme! The unions should fight to the finish on industrial safety.  The GRUBS responsible for the deaths should cop manslaughter charges.

    • Duff says:

      10:27am | 25/10/10

      Interested to know whether anyone read the analysis of the actual statistics involved published by Crikey last October?  Here’s a quote:

      “What we found was that under every possible scenario, the government insulation program – far from increasing the rates of fire occurring from installing insulation – actually reduced the rate of fires and likely reduced the rate in a quite substantial manner.”

      http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollytics/2010/10/19/insulation-fire-risk-–-the-data-is-in/

      Reply

    • Carl Palmer says:

      01:05pm | 25/10/10

      October 19, 2010 – 11:08 am, by Possum Comitatus aka Scott Steel

      That’s a reliable source : - )

    • Youdy beaudy says:

      10:40am | 25/10/10

      There should have been checks into the Fly by Nighters who raced into the insulation programme at the time in the hope of filling their greedy pockets. It’s not OK to blame the Government every time these greedy mongrels rub their hands together and stuff up.

      The incompetence here was with the contractors who didn’t even have the gumption to know that you have to switch off the power before installing anything in ceilings, and the other thing is that they could have used pink batts without the metal covers. Durrr. It’s a no brainer.

      The problem with the trades is that it takes more than having a hammer in your hand to make a builder or any other trade. Fly by nighters are out there looking for these government schemes to come up so they can scam the taxpayer again and again.

      The intentions of the Government was to help create work but it went arse up because of incompetent installers. It happens all the time so I think Garrett and Combet need a break from all this rhetoric and hatred and next time so called tradesmen should be checked out more carefully, because all blame should go to them really. You can’t bring back the people who were killed on he job but one thing is for sure, they won’t do it again.

      I feel sorry for the families that were affected but incompetence is just that, incompetence.! Their employers should be charged with manslaughter in the workplace and duly processed and put out of business where they belong, and maybe by doing that it will send a clear message to so called instant tradesmen that if you are not qualified then keep away.

      This country is full of conmen who are in business and are not qualified. There needs to be more scrutiny by the authorities in particular where working with electricity is carried out.

      Reply

    • More scrutiny Please says:

      12:04pm | 25/10/10

      After the Rudd-Gillard government was thoroughly warned about the potential for more house fires and fatalities after Matthew Fuller was electrocuted, why didn’t they suspend the taxpayer-funded programme?
      No taxpayers would have wanted that hasty government expenditure to continue under circumstances that led to further fatalities.  That was OUR taxpayers’ money and we expect it to be judiciously managed on our behalf!    Did the Rudd/Gillard outfit make any attempt to clean up their burgeoning mess? What exact steps did the government take following Matthew Fuller’s death?  Who is going to open this wide up so all of us can make informed judgement?  Did Rudd/Gillard/Garrett make any attempt to prevent further fatalities?  Was this subject discussed in Cabinet?  What about freedom of information - we want answers not excuses and justifications and there has to be much more scrutiny.

    • Bruce says:

      04:16pm | 25/10/10

      More Scrutiny: Simply, Peter Garret and the ALP were out of their depth. The projects undertaken were quite simple to implement, most good small to medium business’s could have done it better.

    • Saskia says:

      12:52pm | 25/10/10

      3 times as many young Australian’s died in months for the ALP’s Pink Batt scheme than in Iraq in years.

      And yet still Kojak continues to be paid by us for doing nothing when the man should be in jail.

      Reply

    • Jim says:

      02:40pm | 25/10/10

      Let’s do some comparisons…October 2001, Howard/Ruddock/Reith receive intelligence that SIEV4 was sabotaged by the illegal asylum seekers and they started throwing children overboard. They immediately acted on that intelligence, they did not try and cover it up. 2004 new evidence comes to light - from a single person - that the intel may have not been entirely accurate. The then opposition demand their inquiries…senate committees are set up, and a good years worth of political mileage was gained. Even now, on a slow news day someone will still raise the ‘children overboard scandal’.
      Fast forward to 2009…Gillard/Rudd/Garrett receive a report about the rorting and safety issues surrounding the HIP. They ignore it, they cover it up. They allow 3 more deaths and dozens of fires…still, they downplay it. The current opposition question it; they are accused of playing politics.
      I’m sure that any of the one-eyed Labor mules on this site will somehow still see the children overboard as being a bigger scandal than the pink batts, but I fail to see how they’re even in the same league.

      Reply

    • Bruce says:

      05:42pm | 25/10/10

      Jim agree: When the myth sounds better than fact ‘rusted ons’ will believe the myth…..thats what one sided poltics is about.

    • Pip.m says:

      02:54pm | 25/10/10

      Mr. Hunt, Why do you never mention that prior to this Government’s insulation scheme there were no Insulation Industry regulations in place.  Why is it that prior to this scheme coming into practice, there were approximately 85 fires per year per 65000 houses installed with insulation and 8 deaths.  These statistics are available from the National Audit Office and the Hawke Report.  This is an apalling oversight by the Howard Government that did nothing.  From installing 1.2million homes now with insulation the fire risk has been reduced enormously now that regulations are in force .  The four sad deaths are dreadful and the offending companies are, and I daresay will be charged.  The Governments fault was they did it far too quickly and thus mistakes and fraud occurred.  The cost is a big price to pay. Many lessons should be learn’t from this but you have a lot to answer too for your inactivity in the 12 years of your Government.  You just wish these facts would go away!

      Reply

    • Lee says:

      03:24pm | 25/10/10

      At the time of the original announcement in Feb 2008, I went to the Federal Government website to check on registered installers. The site said that the scheme would start in June and   there would be a list of registered installers available.  To the best of my knowledge, there never was a registered list published.The next thing I know, there are utes driving around everywhere with roof installation signs on them. I contacted some of them, none had ever had to have their credentials checked, they just had to register their name, nothing else! Some of them already were very dodgy builders who could not get work because of their poor local reputation, but no problem, they were now in a new market.

      Reply

    • Lisa H. says:

      03:51pm | 25/10/10

      If the government knew that even in a usual year, insulation was partly responsible for hourse fires (and downlighting and poor wiring would also be implicated in those fires, not just insulating companies) why didn’t the government pay heed to those in the industry who said they could see a problem brewing?

      Why did the government encourage a wholesale stampede into the industry by people who did not understand the background of the industry, the current risks of the industry such as downlighting or wiring?

      Fingerpointing and obfustication cannot disguise the Labor Party’s contempt for and lack of understanding of the industry.

      I do not work in the industry, yet on behalf of the people who have invested their lives in the industry, I am furious!
      As a mother, I am also furious, regarding the deaths of the young workers.

      I for one cannot understand why this insulation debacle was not a massive pre-election issue for the media.

      Reply

    • acotrel says:

      02:01am | 26/10/10

      ‘Why did the government encourage a wholesale stampede into the industry by people who did not understand the background of the industry, the current risks of the industry such as downlighting or wiring?’

      ‘GREED IS GOOD’ ? I love your use of the word ‘encourage’!  It’s the same thing as the government ‘attracting’ boat people with weak border protection policies!  Next you’ll be claiming the government sent all potential rorters a list of government programmes they could contract to and cheat on? They probably send envoys to Afghanistan telling people to get on a boat?

    • Lisa H. says:

      04:19pm | 28/10/10

      No, actotrel, the government ENCOURAGED new players into the industry because the roll out needed to happen yesterday, remember?

      And in doing so, the government showed an incredible arrogance.

      What of the established players in the industry, normal people and families, that have invested their lives, homes, livelihoods in ithe insulation industry?

      Our government stormed the industry like it was a war-time emergency. Are we living in a command economy here?

 
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