Garrett attacked over insulation no-show

Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett has been accused of living in a
"different moral universe" for failing to attend a meeting on the safety of roof
insulation.

Four installers have died installing insulation under the government's bungled $3.7
billion program.
Last week Mr Garrett banned the foil insulation blamed for two of the deaths.
He has been accused of taking too long to bring in mandatory training for installers
and ban the foil insulation.
Mr Garrett had arranged a meeting in Canberra on Monday between bureaucrats in his
department, electricians and unions to discuss the possibility of lifting the ban on
the foil insulation.
The minister didn't attend - he was holding a media event in a NSW national park.
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said Mr Garrett had lost touch.
"I think that both Minister Garrett and Prime Minister Rudd are inhabiting a
different moral universe," he told reporters in Perth.
"For Mr Garrett to be off in some national park ... I think indicates that he has
completely lost touch with the values of ordinary Australians."
But Mr Garrett said technical experts from government would attend the meeting and
pass on advice to him. Decisions would not be made at the meeting.
"I am pleased that the meeting that I wanted to take place is happening in
Canberra," Mr Garrett told reporters from the national park.
"There are going to be silly bits of claim and counterclaim around issues as part of
the political debate," Mr Garrett said of the opposition's attacks on him.
Meanwhile, a Queensland homeowner has launched the first legal suit over the
insulation scheme, claiming he almost died as a direct result of foil insulation.
Colin Brierley, of Windaroo in the Gold Coast hinterland, suffered a massive
electrical shock a week after he had foil insulation installed in his home under the
rebate scheme.
His lawyers on Monday issued a notice of claim against the federal environment
department.
The claim alleges the government has been negligent in failing to properly regulate
the scheme, and ensure installers underwent adequate training.
"... what really sealed the deal was Mr Garrett when he blamed everyone else and his
dog except himself," Mr Brierley told reporters.
And pest control and building inspectors are the latest people to complain about the
insulation scheme, saying they are scared to perform routine roof inspections after
the electrocutions. About a dozen workers have reported receiving minor electric
shocks.
Federal Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner says roof insulation safety is the
responsibility of state governments even if a federal government program has been
blamed for workplace deaths.
A Brisbane man died in October while installing foil insulation, but the metal
products were not banned until February, following another death near Cairns in
similar circumstances.
Asked if the special budget committee of federal cabinet should take responsibility
for the home insulation scheme fatalities, Mr Tanner said state governments played a
role.
"We're dealing here with health and safety matters that are basically run by state
governments and the federal government puts funding into lots of different things,"
the minister told ABC Radio on Monday.
Mr Tanner said the primary schools building component of the stimulus did not
require a new set of federal regulations.
"We added a big pile of additional funding, for example, into primary schools and
buildings in that process," he said.
"We didn't introduce a whole set of new regulatory arrangements on top of existing
state regulatory arrangements."