Tony Abbott promises judicial inquiry into botched home insulation scheme

Updated

The Opposition has promised to launch a judicial inquiry into Labor's controversial home insulation scheme, which has been linked to the deaths of four tradesmen, if it wins office.

The Queensland coroner investigated the deaths of three of the men, and found the dangers of the multi-billion-dollar scheme should have been foreseen before anyone died.

He said the scheme was marred by inadequate training, safety and supervision, and criticised the Government for rolling it out too quickly in a bid to stimulate the economy.

This morning Tony Abbott visited a home insulation business in Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's electorate of Griffith, and promised to seek answers on behalf of the Australian people.

"It is really important to get to the bottom of this for the families of the young men who died and for all the people whose businesses have been damaged or destroyed, whose lives have been put on hold, who have lost their homes as a result of this," the Opposition Leader said.

It is really important to get to the bottom of this for the families of the young men who died and for all the people whose businesses have been damaged or destroyed. Tony Abbott

"We've got to make sure that this kind of disaster never happens again."

Mr Abbott says the inquiry would be set up within a month, would have the same powers as a royal commission and would examine possible compensation to the victims' families.

He says the scheme would "obviously cost some millions of dollars" but is confident it can be "funded out of existing departmental resources".

Hunt wants Rudd 'held to account'

Opposition environment spokesman Greg Hunt used the press conference to renew accusations that Labor officials knew there would be house fires and injuries as a result of the scheme.

"This deserves a judicial inquiry so as we can learn the lessons of the past and this can never ever, ever happen again," he said.

"My view is that Mr Rudd is careless. He smashes up people's lives, he smashes up people's businesses, he gives a casual flick of his hair and then he walks off, but other people have to pick up the damage from Mr Rudd.

"He has learnt nothing. He is the same person with the same careless attitude and it's time to finally hold him to account and everybody else who was involved in this."

My view is that Mr Rudd is careless. He smashes up people's lives, he smashes up people's businesses, he gives a casual flick of his hair and then he walks off. Greg Hunt

The Government has previously resisted pressure to release advice warning of the dangers.

"I don't think it's about releasing documents. I think it's about what the inquiries have been," Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said last month.

The Government has admitted problems with the scheme, and Mr Rudd has apologised for the deaths of the young workers.

In a statement released today, the Government noted there have been eight reviews into the scheme.

"All recommendations of the inquiries, reviews and audits of have been closely considered by the Labor Government and appropriate actions taken," it said.

Labor also pledged $1 million towards a fund to "assist organisations with ideas for improving workplace health and safety and to provide better support to workers and their families in recovering from workplace harm or to cope with the impact of a workplace death".

Abbott denies using deaths as political tool

The Liberal Party has been keen to keep the botched scheme in the spotlight as politicians hit the campaign trail to woo voters ahead of the September 7 election.

But Mr Abbott has denied that reviving the issue is simply playing politics with the deaths of four young Australians.

"It is very important that government earn the trust of the Australian people. Here is trust broken, trust betrayed," he said.

"I've been talking about this matter for more than three years now. Greg Hunt, to his enormous credit, has been warning about this matter for four years.

"By all means be cynical about politicians, but we are fair dinkum about wanting to do the right thing by the people who have been very badly let down on this."

Inquiry will have wide scope

After the scheme was dumped in 2010, the Opposition repeatedly called for a judicial inquiry and even demanded a royal commission.

However last month, Mr Hunt appeared to indicate a judicial inquiry was no longer needed.

"The Queensland Government through the Coroner has just had what is effectively a judicial inquiry. The coroner is an officer of the Queensland court system," Mr Hunt said.

But Mr Abbott says a judicial inquiry can go down roads the coroner could not.

"A judicial inquiry can investigate all of the deaths, not just the three Queensland deaths," he said.

"A judicial inquiry can summon public servants and examine them on oath in a way that couldn't happen via the coronial inquiry.

"A judicial inquiry will deal with every aspect of this, not just the commercial aspects which I gather are now subject to some legal proceedings."

First-year carpentry apprentice Rueben Barnes, 16, had worked for less than a month when he was electrocuted while installing insulation at a home near Rockhampton in 2009.

A month earlier, Matthew Fuller, 25, was electrocuted at Logan, south of Brisbane.

Mitchell Sweeney, 22, died in north Queensland in early 2010.

A fourth worker, 19-year-old Marcus Wilson, died from heat exhaustion after working to install insulation in a western Sydney home in 2009.

Topics: government-and-politics, federal-government, federal-elections, building-and-construction, australia, qld

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