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Home Insulation Debacle

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trainspotter said:
6) The National Broadband Network’s $43 billion investment was announced without even a business plan.
Click to expand...
The Tasmanian roll-out is now 6 months late on the NBN, which will inevitably lead to cost blowouts on the entire project.

Only $43b? Dreaming. The cost will be substantially higher than this - "minor issues" such as licensing poeple to do the work (registered cablers with an Optus endorsement aren't allowed to fix the external box to the wall as there is a power line running into it) and what happens to the emergency call service requirements (copper lines are slightly electrified so the phones work when the power goes out - not so with fibre to the premises optic lines) have not been decided yet.

$43b and they still haven't sorted these things out yet. Oh goody :rolleyes:
 
"How can we sleep while our beds are burning" - Diesel & Dust Album Midnight Oil ....... surprised the media have not played it as background music for Peter Garrett promo?
 
Rudd refuses to front insulation inquiry

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and senior ministers have refused to appear before an inquiry into the botched roof insulation scheme.

A Senate committee is trying to establish what went wrong with the $2.45 billion scheme, which was axed after it was blamed for the deaths of installers and house fires.

The committee has asked Mr Rudd, the minister formerly responsible for the scheme Peter Garrett, the new minister responsible Greg Combet, and employment participation minister Mark Arbib to appear. They have refused.

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-new...o-front-insulation-inquiry-20100505-u9ya.html

Where is the guillotine ?? Where are the people rioting in the streets? Where is the media questioning this decision ?
 
trainspotter said:
Where is the guillotine ?? Where are the people rioting in the streets? Where is the media questioning this decision ?
Click to expand...


Well it is only a few hours since this news broke, so its a bit early to be expecting such reactions. That being said, I don't think it will be any different in a day or two.
 
I'm not surprised. However, their very refusal to attend implies they have something to hide.

I'd expect the Opposition to take this up when Parliament resumes.
Ditto why the enquiry into the BER did not consider the question of value for money.

Greg Hunt seems pretty sharp, so I don't see either of these issues getting away from him.
 
trainspotter said:
Rudd refuses to front insulation inquiry

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and senior ministers have refused to appear before an inquiry into the botched roof insulation scheme.

A Senate committee is trying to establish what went wrong with the $2.45 billion scheme, which was axed after it was blamed for the deaths of installers and house fires.

The committee has asked Mr Rudd, the minister formerly responsible for the scheme Peter Garrett, the new minister responsible Greg Combet, and employment participation minister Mark Arbib to appear. They have refused.

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-new...o-front-insulation-inquiry-20100505-u9ya.html

Where is the guillotine ?? Where are the people rioting in the streets? Where is the media questioning this decision ?
Click to expand...

A Royal commission will be the only way to flush them out of hidding. Don't expect the media to do it. The Courier Mail made big head lines on the front page today of the two LNP rebels in Queensland going independant which was far less significant than the Home Insulation debacle.
 
Batts Are Burning

Up where the rafters burn
From politicians that never learn
Flaming homes and ruined lives
Fire at four forty five degrees

The time has come
To say fair's fair
To tell the truth, now
To accept your share

The time has come
A fact's a fact
It took young lives
You can’t give that back

How can we dance when the smoke is churning
How do we sleep while our batts are burning
How can we dance when the smoke is churning
How do we sleep while our batts are burning

The time has come
To say fair's fair
To tell the truth, now
To accept your share

Chronic waste for the taxpayer
All throughout Australia
Total incompetence lives and breathes
Fire at four forty five degrees

The time has come
To say fair's fair
To tell the truth, now
To pay your share
The time has come
A fact's a fact
It took young lives
You can’t give that back

How can we dance when the smoke is churning
How do we sleep while our batts are burning
How can we dance when the smoke is churning
How do we sleep while our batts are burning

The time has come
To say fair's fair
To tell the truth, now
To accept your share
The time has come
A fact's a fact
It took young lives
You should resign on that

How can we dance when the smoke is churning
How do we sleep while our batts are burning
Click to expand...
 
Coming to a CD shop near you real soon. No wait ....... it has already been and gone.
 

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AFTER 12 home fires in as many days caused by badly installed insulation, the Minister responsible for the botched $2.45 billion program yesterday refused to answer questions about the government's promised home safety inspections.

Assistant Climate Change Minister Greg Combet has said the government would inspect at least 150,000 homes fitted with ceiling batts or other non-foil insulation.

But more than three months since the troubled insulation scheme was suspended in February, the government has still not hired a company to roll out the home safety inspections program.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/pol...ons-yet-to-begin/story-e6frgczf-1225874345694

GOSH ! What will it take to get this resolved?? More fires and deaths?
 
trainspotter said:
AFTER 12 home fires in as many days caused by badly installed insulation, the Minister responsible for the botched $2.45 billion program yesterday refused to answer questions about the government's promised home safety inspections.

Assistant Climate Change Minister Greg Combet has said the government would inspect at least 150,000 homes fitted with ceiling batts or other non-foil insulation.

But more than three months since the troubled insulation scheme was suspended in February, the government has still not hired a company to roll out the home safety inspections program.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/pol...ons-yet-to-begin/story-e6frgczf-1225874345694

GOSH ! What will it take to get this resolved?? More fires and deaths?
Click to expand...

Many more I'm afraid, since it appears the Peasants Of Oz have not yet earned the respect of the Court of King Krudd.

May God Save The KRudd...
All The KRudd...
And Nothing But The KRudd.

amen.
 
GumbyLearner said:
Royal Commission coming soon. Watch this space.
Click to expand...

Senate urges royal commission into insulation scheme

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/07/15/2954371.htm?section=justin

By Alexandra Kirk
Updated Thu Jul 15, 2010 3:25pm AEST

The $2.5 billion program was scrapped after it was linked to four deaths and a number of house fires.

The $2.5 billion program was scrapped after it was linked to four deaths and a number of house fires.

A Senate committee has called for a royal commission into the Federal Government's home insulation program.

The $2.5 billion program was scrapped after it was linked to four deaths and a number of house fires.

The Coalition-dominated committee said a royal commission is needed to work through the problems with the design and implementation of the program, as well as its response to the warnings about the deadly risks involved.

Coalition senators say the scheme was open to an unacceptable level of fraud and abuse and the Government had "clear and unambiguous warnings" that rolling out such a big program so quickly would be problematic.

The inquiry also recommends every home that had insulation installed under the program be inspected for fire and safety risks.

Liberal Senator Simon Birmingham says the Opposition is determined to get to the bottom of the insulation debacle.

"This is one of the most spectacular failures of government in a long, long time," he said.

"The home insulation program has cost lives, cost homes and wasted $1 billion plus of taxpayers' money. This is something that we need to get to the bottom of.

"Unfortunately government ministers and the Government generally have at many stages of this Senate inquiry obfuscated, avoided appearing, avoided releasing documents."
 
The coroner's report for anyone interested in reading it.

I would like to ask people for their opinions on two points about this topic.

1. How do people now view Peter Garrett's role in this? Given that he decided to resign rather than work for Kevin Rudd, has anyone determined that they unfairly attributed blame (as opposed to ministerial responsibility) to Peter Garrett?

2. Understanding the context that regulation is about degrees, not absolutes, how should a government (any party) balance the requirements of personal responsibility, vicarious responsibility for a business, and government regulation or red tape as it is often called.

I think the personal responsibility element of point 2 is the easiest one to address in that obviously if someone is untrained in an unsafe environment, it's just not negotiable that that should not have happened and those business are directly responsible. I'm assuming though that there will be a range of views on the other elements.
 
They should have had Engineers involved. Unfortunately, the upper echelons of government are mainly unionists, teachers and lawyers and so are technologically incapable.

That said, the firms themselves were acting without responsibility and the full forces of the law should be thrown at them.

The ABC is running the quote died every 1/2 hour, from the mother on one of the boys that died. They asked her about Kevin Rudd and she stated that she just wished him to disappear. This will hurt his standing a lot.
 
I would like an explaination from Rudd why he, Gillard, Swan and Garrett refused to face a senate enquiry in 2010.

I refer to post #203 of May 2010.
 
The disaster of some of the Home Insulation debacle was the governments/bueaucracys inability to jump on home insulation businesses that were just total cowboys.

The government was intent on quickly putting millions of dollars into the community AND achieving a good environmental result ie improving the long term efficiency of peoples homes. On paper the best way to do that was using the free enterprise system with hopefully some effective oversight.

Trouble is throwing buckets of money at the free enterprise system is just an invitation to every spiv in town to rip off the system. And they are simply far more effective at ripping off employees and governments that bureaucrats are at defending the programs. And unfortunately being a crook in this system was far more profitable and successful than doing a careful honest job of installing the insulation so the good operators were driven out of business !

Similar issues were face with the Home Sustainability Audits. It would be really worthwhile to have a dispassionate examination of these programs and establish better ways of achieving similar results. Perhaps one of the starts might be spelling out to participants their personal liability for fraud and deliberately stuffing up the system. I'd be interested to know for example if the government has the details of some of the rogue operators and what have been the consequences for them.
 
Some Dude said:
1. How do people now view Peter Garrett's role in this?
Click to expand...

It appears that Garrett had written to Rudd on 4 separate occasions outlining the risks and his concerns. He could have stopped the program or resigned, same thing I suppose, either way he would not have remained Minister. It is Rudd's responses to Garrett's letters that would be the real interesting part.

Cheers
Country Lad
 
basilio said:
Similar issues were face with the Home Sustainability Audits. It would be really worthwhile to have a dispassionate examination of these programs and establish better ways of achieving similar results. Perhaps one of the starts might be spelling out to participants their personal liability for fraud and deliberately stuffing up the system. I'd be interested to know for example if the government has the details of some of the rogue operators and what have been the consequences for them.
Click to expand...

The report does cover some of this with regard to Workplace health and safety offences (page 75).

Lots of lessons for everyone (page 68).

Unfortunately, electrical trades organisations such as NECA and the Master
Electricians Association were not consulted earlier about the use of foil and metal
staples in the program. If there had been such consultation, the safety issues in
relation to the use of these products might have emerged at an earlier time. The
industry representatives who did participate in planning meetings seemed to
have been preoccupied with “getting a slice of the pie” for their members rather
than contributing to any objective consideration of how to maximise safety.
Click to expand...
 
A mate of mine in a certain industry body went to Canberra with a list of all the risks at the begining of the roll out. The govt was told by a lot of people with experiance that it would be rorted and unsafe practice and product would be used. I saw some of what went on and millions of dollars must have been scammed and went overseas

- - - Updated - - -

I also remember Rudd with his little notebook as he was confronted by all those legit insulation installers after he sent the lot to the wall. Empty promises is all he gave them.
 

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