Garrett fighting for political life

Environment Minister Peter Garrett is fighting for his political life after the
government was forced to take emergency action over its deadly insulation program.
While Mr Garrett is in trouble, the man the government is gunning for, opposition
finance spokesman Barnaby Joyce, appears to be safe until at least the election.
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has pledged to take his current team to the next
election despite disquiet over Senator Joyce's musings on the economy.
It's unclear whether Mr Garrett will be as lucky as the clamour grows for his
resignation.
A handful of deaths connected to the program has put pressure on the government and
on Wednesday it ordered an emergency audit to ensure the safety of homes fitted with
foil insulation.
The coalition accused the government of giving the green light to cowboy insulation
installers in its haste to get the program up as part of its economic stimulus
initiatives.
Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner denied it would have been better to roll out the
program slowly.
"I don't think it's right to say we should have sat back ... dotting the i's and
crossing the t's because we were in a crisis situation," he told Sky News.
Mr Garrett has refused to accept responsibility for the faults in the scheme,
blaming rogue installers who'd failed to heed safety guidelines.
"My responsibility is to ensure we have a program that delivers insulation into
people homes safely," he told reporters.
"We have set up a program that does that so long as the people who participate in
the program observe the guidelines of the program properly."
Mr Abbott wouldn't say Mr Garrett was culpable for the deaths but said the public
had a right to be "very angry".
"The government is responsible for negligently administering programs which were
never properly designed in the first place," he told reporters.
"You shouldn't put in place programs that are a green light for cowboys."
His consumer affairs spokesman, Luke Hartsuyker, wasn't so gentle.
"If he can't ensure that funding is spent in a way that doesn't kill people well he
doesn't deserve to be a minister," Mr Hartsuyker told reporters.
The latest controversy isn't the first for the minister.
His green loans scheme is in trouble, the solar panels rebate has been problematic,
the prime minister derailed his attempt to ban climbing at Uluru and he's failed to
stop Japanese whaling.
There had been expectations the high-profile minister may have been dumped during
the last government reshuffle but he managed to save his political skin.
That might change, however, as information comes to light suggesting Mr Garrett and
his department were warned there could be problems with the program.
But, in what was a questionable parliamentary tactic, the coalition failed to ask
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd whether he supported his minister's handling of the issue.
The coalition continued to be under pressure over its own weak link.
Mr Abbott is resisting pressure to move Senator Joyce from finance after he
questioned whether Australia was at risk of defaulting on its sovereign debt.
"I have great confidence in my team," Mr Abbott told reporters during his second
visit this week to the regional NSW town of Queanbeyan in the bellwether seat of
Eden-Monaro.
"They are all terrific.
"This is the team I will take to the election."
A more circumspect Senator Joyce on Wednesday told reporters he wasn't suggesting
Australia would default immediately.
"Not now ... but if we continue on this trajectory I mean," he said.