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The scrutiny continues to pile up on Peter Garrett over the foil insulation debacle, with the Environment Minister admitting in Parliament yesterday he knew about the risks in his roof insulation program as far back as February last year.
Now Garrett and Rudd are facing a growing chorus of voices calling for him to be fired or step down.
Here’s how the pundits saw it today:
The Australian
Christian Kerr: Blow-in forgets Labor gospel
Workplaces have changed over the years, but construction sites, large and small, are still tough and harsh and risk-filled places to be.
Garrett doesn’t understand these nuances.
The Age
Editorial: Garrett racks up strikes against him
… all these administrative woes create the impression of a minister struggling with his responsibilities. Mr Garrett cannot afford any more accidents.
Michelle Grattan: Minister safe, just for now
The Prime Minister knows the political drill: to sacrifice a minister for bad administration does little but make your opponents more blood thirsty.
National Times
Tony Wright, The Goanna: Not slaughter, but a fight for political life
It may have been over the top to suggest that Garrett should be on trial for manslaughter, but there was no doubt he was on trial for his political life.
He survived.
Herald Sun
Phillip Hudson: No safety net for Peter Garrett in election year
In an election year, PMs only stand by an embattled minister for so long.
Garrett followed expert advice and demanded high standards, but this should have been settled before the scheme started.
Ballarat Courier
Editorial, Warning bells should have rung for Garrett on insulation scheme
Mr Garrett is not a career politician, and this sometimes shows through his handling of his portfolio.
Elsewhere…
Grog, Grogs Gamut blog, On the QT: Please Sir, May I have Another?
Greg Hunt asked Garrett six questions, and in not one of them did Garrett look shifty or struggling for facts. He was able to repeat parts of his ministerial statement and looked well at ease doing so. By the third question the heat of the attack had gone out, and it was clear Garrett was safe.
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11 Comments
Kevin Rudd should be a goner, for making Garrett rush the insulation programe out as fast as possible so he could spruik about his stimuals measures creating jobs and making his unemployment figres look good.
I still do not understand how the Government, or specifically Peter Garrett is responsible. It is not like they specified that foil insulation is used, or that foil insulation was not used prior to the grants.
Furthermore, the government has set out rules and regulations (laws) that put responsibility on employers to provide adequate training and safe working environments for their employees.
I have previously been involved in the insulation industry and know for a fact that the industry is full of cowboys under ordinary circumstances, (it is relatively easy; if unpleasant; work, and materials are cheap- leading to good profits for all concerned).
So because unscrupulous employers, cut corners and provide inadequate training things go wrong. This may have been excacerbated by the rebate but certainly wasn’t caused by it, and any idiot should know that foil, being a conductor of electricity, should be handled extremely carefully in the roof of a building, with lights, wiring and god knows what else around.
So essentially the argument is that commercial enterprise is crying out for the government to regulate the industry, but, whenever the governement does set out to regulate an industry, there is hue and outcry that the government should stay out of business.
Lose, Lose
OK
Lets have a plea bargain, Pete will understand.
We will trade Pete for John Howard and senior ministers to face war crime tribunal over AWB admissions.
Is the Health Minister responsible for each death in Hospital? Is the Transport Minister responsible for each death in a motor vehicle accident? Howard managed to escape responsibility for dozens of deaths when Siev X sank, so it’s unreasonable to blame Garrett for dodgy tradies breaching guidelines.
146 children, 142 women and 65 men - SIEVX
This is No Time For Games: Sack him!
John, last year about 177 people died in workplace related accidents. Can you let us all know which federal ministers should resign as a result of this carnage?
The media are pissed off with Garrett they are behaving like morons.
given the information that has come to light, Garrett needs to go. If he was the CEO of a public listed company he would be goooonneeeeee. Time for Garrett to reassess whether he made the right decision to join a major party, he makes as many gaffes as Barnacle.
Garrett was asked to compress what would have been 39 years of retro ceiling installations (circa 70K per annum) into 2 years 10 months. In
The Lord Vishnu would expect problems under those circumstances. Even the 4 deaths to date would have been expected for the 1million installations completed in the past 12 months.
However, Garrett & DEWHA have in 12 months completely reorganised the factious insulation industry which could not achieve the same result in the previous 30 years.
This reorganisation was essential if Australia is to begin bringing it housing stock up to world best design level as is now the case in the UK & the USA.
With energy prices to rise by up to 100% over the next decade, the 6.1 million Aussie homewoners will be forever indebted to Garrett for his forsight.
My apologies…the 6.1 million homes I mentioned above is the total number of Australian free standing dwellings.
Garret’s Home Insulation Program aims to insulate the ceilings of of those 2.7 million dwellings (i.e. nearly 50% of the 6.1 million) without insulation at 3 February 2009, by 31 December 2011.
Nearly 5.2 million of the 6.1 million dwellings need wall insulation, if Australia is going to have
energy efficient housing, to help buffer the impact on families of the likely 100% rise in power bills of the next decade.
Then there’s the air tightness testing of the 6.1 million dwellings, which must be done concurrently with the retrofitting of wall insulation……now you know why a leading international insulation company is building a plant in Oz…the next 20 years will be an insulation bonanza.