Home Insulation Debacle

[Smurf1976]

only marginally more useful than painting rocks white.

Painting rocks white is indeed useful under certain circumstances - I've seen it done for some actual benefit (road safety in this instace).

 

[Julia]

Prime Minister Rudd’s has spent well over $1.5 billion insulating 1.1 million homes. He’s now going to spend several hundred millions more checking each roof, identifying the estimated 240,000 dangerous or dodgy installations, and ripping them out. He’s done something only to undo it again. Because money is spent making it happen and then reversing it, what’s plainly waste becomes economic wisdom at least in Mr Rudd’s current guise as a born again Keynesian. The home insulation programme, hastily conceived and incompetently executed, has degenerated into little more than a make-work programme: almost as futile as shovelling sand hills from one spot to another and back again; only marginally more useful than painting rocks white. Installing insulation only to rip it out notionally constitutes economic activity but is actually a parody of productive work.

So true.

The wonder of job creation continues. Ms Gillard has now announced the spending of further multiple millions of dollars for an Enquiry into the rorts involved in the Education Building Revolution.
Just no limit to the spending of taxpayer dollars with enquiries as to where it all went wrong.

 

[Bolle]

Painting rocks white is indeed useful under certain circumstances - I've seen it done for some actual benefit (road safety in this instace).

This is true, but I was under the impression he thought it was *slightly* useful, just not *greatly* useful. Has to at least be one small iota of useful for it to be a benchmark of minor usefulness...

On the other hand, there are occasions when paintings rocks white is an overpriced exercise in cultural dereliction, such as when the government paid a bunch of unemployed aboriginal youths to 'repaint' some Wandjina (like a rain god) paintings in the Kimberley ranges - something that was supposed to be done only by trained, initiated artists from the relevant tribes, using traditional materials... but in this instance they were kids, and hopelessly untrained, just given a pot of dulux paint and told to go for it. destroyed them entirely. Sure, the rocks are white now, but it's not what anybody wanted.

You have to wonder how some people can get such simple things so amazingly wrong. bureaucrats seem to have it down to a fine art.

 

[pilots]

So true.

The wonder of job creation continues. Ms Gillard has now announced the spending of further multiple millions of dollars for an Enquiry into the rorts involved in the Education Building Revolution.
Just no limit to the spending of taxpayer dollars with enquiries as to where it all went wrong.

Julia, come on its ONLY 14Mil to set up a inquiry to find out that the money has gone to all her mates, God help any one who has to clean up this mess what they have gone.

 

[trainspotter]

Peter Garrett demoted ! "How can we sleep while our beds are burning" has taken on a whole new meaning for me now ! Greg Combet has conveniently sidestepped the media backlash on this one and Julia Gillard seems to be the vox pop for this debacle. 14 million dollars to inspect (not rectify) .......... Pffffffffffttttttt Wait for the millions more to FIX this catastrophe. Where is the money coming from by the way? The Government is borrowing about $1 billion a week, largely from overseas, to pay for its spending programmes. By 2012, the Government’s net public debt will surge to $135 billion. That’s about $13,500 for each of Australia’s 10 million-odd households.

 

[pilots]

Trainspotter, can we take it that you WON'T be handing out how to vote cards for the labor party at the next election???

 

[trainspotter]

Trainspotter, can we take it that you WON'T be handing out how to vote cards for the labor party at the next election???

You can take that to the bank pilots. I am all for any government that will STOP this kind of bungling:

1) Northern Territory aboriginal housing scheme has spent 45 million and NOT ONE house has been built.

2) Grocery Choice was setup and shut down before it began at a cost of 10 million.

3) 150 permanent staff on The Department of Climate Change and a non - existent trading scheme in sight.

4) Insulation Debacle - Enuff said.

5) A taskforce setup to monitor the BER Scheme rorted for millions !

6) The National Broadband Network’s $43 billion investment was announced without even a business plan.

I could go on and on but it would be pointless as the electorate will not respond to facts and are more likely to believe the bovine excreta and spin that the Labor Party produces in voluminous amounts.

 

[Julia]

I could go on and on but it would be pointless as the electorate will not respond to facts and are more likely to believe the bovine excreta and spin that the Labor Party produces in voluminous amounts.

That's true, but why? This is what gets me. Does Joe Citizen just not listen to the news, not consider the incredible wasting of their tax dollars, observe stuffup after stuffup?

It seems to me it has to come down to the Opposition just not presenting a credible alternative. Just can't see any other reason for the government not being down to about zero in the polls.

 

[trainspotter]

That's true, but why? This is what gets me. Does Joe Citizen just not listen to the news, not consider the incredible wasting of their tax dollars, observe stuffup after stuffup?

It seems to me it has to come down to the Opposition just not presenting a credible alternative. Just can't see any other reason for the government not being down to about zero in the polls.

The spin Julia ... the spin. Abbott is damaged goods in the media eyes and is portrayed as a mad monk with a passion for **** jocks. Herr Krudd is portrayed as a Messiah to rescue the voting electorate from the oppression we have been under for the past years of naughty Mr Johnny Howard who polluted this country with his "Neo Liberalism" which we must be punished for.

 

[Julia]

Surely the average voter is not so stupid!

Might be more a case of having voted for someone, they don't want to admit now that such a vote was a mistake.

I just can't see that any spin can hold up in the face of the monumental stuff ups of the last several weeks.

 

[trainspotter]

Media is repsonsible for a lot of the doctorate that is being espoused at the moment. Unfortunately most people are more concerned that iced coffee have a 25% bonus volume content and they cannot possibly drink this extra amount of milk product (actual true life conversation I had recently at a BBQ) I suggested that they do not drink the extra 25% and merely stop drinking once they are full. I was shouted down that I must be RICH to be able to afford wasting this extra resource. I tried to explain that the 25% extra was for FREE and in fact you are not wasting it as you were never charged extra in the first place?? THUS is the mentality of 90% the voting public I am afraid. Enuff said really.

 

[Smurf1976]

You can take that to the bank pilots. I am all for any government that will STOP this kind of bungling:

1) Northern Territory aboriginal housing scheme has spent 45 million and NOT ONE house has been built.

2) Grocery Choice was setup and shut down before it began at a cost of 10 million.

3) 150 permanent staff on The Department of Climate Change and a non - existent trading scheme in sight.

4) Insulation Debacle - Enuff said.

5) A taskforce setup to monitor the BER Scheme rorted for millions !

6) The National Broadband Network’s $43 billion investment was announced without even a business plan.

I could go on and on but it would be pointless as the electorate will not respond to facts and are more likely to believe the bovine excreta and spin that the Labor Party produces in voluminous amounts.

7) Constant on again / off again / on again nonsense with the solar industry that has created nothing but chaos and seen consumers lose interest.

PS: RIP the former APPM Burnie Mill now that total closure has been announced. A sad end for an enterprise that once employed 4500 in a town of less than 20,000 that has slowly declined to nothing following the decisions of various governments, particularly a previous Labor federal government that stopped further investment in the mills 20 years ago thus sealing their fate. The Wesley Vale mill also closed a few weeks ago after 40 years in operation.

 

[gav]

Surely the average voter is not so stupid!

Unfortunately Julia, I'd say yes, they are...

 

[Julia]

The government has now canned the proposed revised home insulation scheme which was due to start in June on the basis of the extremely critical nature of the Enquiry Report now in the government's hands.

Where does this leave all the insulation suppliers with still massive stocks on their books, most bought with borrowed money, I wonder?

 

[trainspotter]

The government has now canned the proposed revised home insulation scheme which was due to start in June on the basis of the extremely critical nature of the Enquiry Report now in the government's hands.

Where does this leave all the insulation suppliers with still massive stocks on their books, most bought with borrowed money, I wonder?

Associate of mine owns said Insulation business. Guvmnt owes him 170k for install work. FROZEN. Not being paid until ALL his jobs have been inspected and given the all clear. Oh yeah ... he has a warehouse full of the stuff !! Want some?

 

[awg]

You can take that to the bank pilots. I am all for any government that will STOP this kind of bungling:

1) Northern Territory aboriginal housing scheme has spent 45 million and NOT ONE house has been built.

I especially hate this one..estimated cost to build each house last time I looked was $500,000..so what sort of idiot would even consider building even 1 house of this type for Indigenous public housing in remote areas?

Would it not be better to train the local persons to construct themselves, environmentally sustainable housing such as rammed earth, mudbrick, and pay them to do it, and give them a stake?

I dont want to sound too racist, but building Mcmansion style accomodation in the middle of the desert for aboriginal communities, is bound to end in failure.

Anyone who has ever had anything to do with Aboriginal Community spending would know the destiny of such buildings

2) Grocery Choice was setup and shut down before it began at a cost of 10 million.

3) 150 permanent staff on The Department of Climate Change and a non - existent trading scheme in sight.

4) Insulation Debacle - Enuff said.

5) A taskforce setup to monitor the BER Scheme rorted for millions !

6) The National Broadband Network’s $43 billion investment was announced without even a business plan.

I could go on and on but it would be pointless as the electorate will not respond to facts and are more likely to believe the bovine excreta and spin that the Labor Party produces in voluminous amounts.

 

[drsmith]

Would it not be better to train the local persons to construct themselves, environmentally sustainable housing such as rammed earth, mudbrick, and pay them to do it, and give them a stake?

It would but that requires more effort than writing a cheque from the taxpayer.

 

[zzaaxxss3401]

Oh yeah ... he has a warehouse full of the stuff !! Want some?

Does he have any of the following
* Either R5 or R6 (in Pink Batts or Bradford Gold Batts) ceiling batts - enough to cover approximately 105m2.
* Plus either R2 or R2.5 (in Pink Batts or Bradford Gold Batts) wall batts - enough to cover approximately 160m2.

Delivery to Hamilton (3300), Victoria. I may be able to come and pick them up in a truck if the price is right!

Pete.

 

[trainspotter]

Does he have any of the following
* Either R5 or R6 (in Pink Batts or Bradford Gold Batts) ceiling batts - enough to cover approximately 105m2.
* Plus either R2 or R2.5 (in Pink Batts or Bradford Gold Batts) wall batts - enough to cover approximately 160m2.

Delivery to Hamilton (3300), Victoria. I may be able to come and pick them up in a truck if the price is right!

Pete.

Rick Smith All Decor would definitely have them BUT he is in Western Australia. The fuel money for the truck would not be price competitive.

 

[trainspotter]

Whistleblower's claims Rudd new risks

A whistleblower from the Environment Department told the ABC's Four Corners program that warnings were made to senior bureaucrats about the insulation scheme, but safety issues were considered "of less importance than job creation".

The insider told Four Corners that people within the department were trying to warn their superiors about the risk of electrocution and fires.

"We were told many times by senior management that the technical and safety issues were of less importance than getting this program up and running and creating jobs," the insider said.

The public servants even came up with solutions to the safety problems they had identified. But those suggestions were also ignored.

"There was no way of knowing whether a house had foil insulation or any material installed safely, and because the installers were not trained properly, there was no way of checking that installers actually knew what they were doing," the insider said.

"There was no way to be sure that they were doing the insulation safely and correctly.

"It was discussed internally and it was mentioned by the industry and quite frankly, it's not rocket science."

It is not yet clear whether those warnings were passed on to the minister then responsible for the insulation program, Peter Garrett, or whether Mr Garrett passed those concerns on to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

Neither would speak to the ABC about the whistleblower's claims.