Beseiged Garrett deflects blame

Federal bureaucrats embarked on the $2.7 billion home insulation program believing up to 100,000 homes would suffer shoddy workmanship, Treasurer Troy Buswell said yesterday.

In a further blow to Environment Minister Peter Garrett, Mr Buswell said State consumer agencies were told in a phone hook-up in April they expected a "10 per cent failure rate".

A besieged Mr Garrett is clinging to his job despite admitting yesterday he had received repeated warnings beginning 12 months ago from industry, unions and the States that the troubled program endangered lives and property and training was inadequate.

Four young contractors have died installing insulation.

Wendy Sweeney, the mother of the latest victim Mitchell Sweeney, said her son might be alive if he had received proper training.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott called on the Prime Minister to sack Mr Garrett, saying: "If he was a company director in NSW he would be charged with industrial manslaughter." Kevin Rudd expressed full confidence in Mr Garrett, saying he was a first-class Minister.

Mr Garrett tried to deflect criticism of his handling of the program - which has seen more than one million homes insulated - by blaming installers. "It's not the rebate that is causing accidents in people's roofs, it's negligent or inappropriate or slack behaviour on the part of a very tiny minority," he said.

The Opposition catalogued 13 separate warnings about the scheme, including one dated October 16 from Master Electricians Australia to Mr Garrett urging a ban on the use of foil insulation for the $1200 rebate to stop further deaths.

"Our members across Australia have become more and more concerned over the past six months with reports of incidents relating to the installation of insulation increasing steadily," chief executive Malcolm Richards wrote.

"The latest incident where an installer was killed in Queensland amplifies the seriousness of this issue. The potential for further fatalities cannot be dismissed."

It took two more deaths before Mr Garrett finally banned foil insulation this week, and he ordered safety inspections for almost 50,000 homes where it had been fitted because of fears ceilings were electrified.

Mr Buswell said that in April last year State Government officials raised concerns about the quality of workmanship that might arise out of the Federal Government's insulation subsidy.