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'Each death shouldn't have occurred': Insulation inquiry report

A royal commission report into the former Rudd government's $2.8 billion botched home insulation scheme is expected to point the finger at Labor ministers.

The commission handed its long-awaited findings to the federal government on Sunday and it could be tabled in parliament as early as Monday.

The $16 million inquiry, set up by the Abbott government, examined the deaths of four installers and house fires linked to the program designed to stimulate the economy during the global financial crisis of 2008-2009.


The inquiry was told of serious program flaws, limited training for workers and a lack of system of checks to prevent rorts.

In May, former prime minister Kevin Rudd told the commission he accepted ultimate responsibility for the program's failings.

But he did not accept that burden alone.

Former Labor environment minister Peter Garrett, parliamentary secretary Mark Arbib and numerous public servants all had duties to monitor certain issues, Mr Rudd said, although he refrained from directly implicating anyone.

During his testimony, Mr Garrett said he accepted ultimate responsibility, as the person charged with rolling out the scheme.

But he too said others should share the blame.

"We share responsibilities with those other institutions that equally have them, such as state regulatory bodies, employers, ultimately employees as well," Mr Garrett said.

Installers Matthew Fuller, Rueben Barnes, Marcus Wilson and Mitchell Sweeney died in 2009 and 2010, three by electrocution. The program was terminated on February 19, 2010.

Left to right: Matthew Fuller, Mitchell Sweeney, Reuben Barnes.


DEATHS LINKED TO THE HOME INSULATION PROGRAM

  • October 14, 2009. Matthew Fuller, 25, was electrocuted laying insulation sheeting in the ceiling cavity of a house in Meadowbrook, Qld. He had started work with the company 12 days earlier.


  • November 18, 2009. Rueben Barnes, 16, was electrocuted laying batts in the ceiling cavity of a house at Stanwell, Qld. He had started with the company 21 days earlier.


  • November 21, 2009. Marcus Wilson, 19, died from hyperthermia complications after installing batts in a St Clair, NSW home in 40C heat.


  • February 4, 2010. Mitchell Sweeney, 22, was electrocuted laying insulation sheeting in the ceiling cavity of a home at Millaa Millaa, Qld. He had started at a new company a week earlier.


KEY EVIDENCE TO THE INSULATION INQUIRY

  • Blame game: Former prime minister Kevin Rudd and his former minister Peter Garrett accepted "ultimate responsibility" for the program, but said public servants failed to advise of safety risks.


  • Safety warnings: Bureaucrats were warned five months before the program's rollout that three New Zealanders had been electrocuted using metal staples to secure foil. After the first death, industry advice that foil should be banned wasn't heeded.


  • Timing: Senior bureaucrats said they were given two days to cost the scheme. Public servants believed the July 1, 2009 rollout deadline denied them time to consider safety risks, but Mr Rudd said they should have asked for an extension.


  • Lack of training: Plans to train all installers were abandoned, allowing workers to enter roof cavities after undergoing a general safety induction provided they were supervised. But the government had no way of guaranteeing on-site supervision.


  • Bad advice: Mr Rudd controversially used details of secret cabinet proceedings to reveal that even after people started dying, bureaucrats advised the scheme was "on track".


  • Rorting: The program attracted "shonky" operators who failed to supervise inexperienced installers and claimed payments for work that had never taken place.


  • Industry destroyed: The scheme's early termination led to the financial ruin of established insulation companies, with some losing millions of dollars.


Morning news break – September 01