Dear RobP,

You don't hire electricians, plumbers,
bricklayers, truck drivers, train operators,
who haven't been trained. That's the
responsibility of the employer, not the
Minister. The Minister's responsibility lies
with the allocation of funds to operators.

Nobody was pressuring the contractors to
undertake the work if they were over-committed
themselves through greed. They're responsible
for the consequences.

Dear Shadow Minister,

Ah yes, "gross negligence."

Try reading the following website:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200604/s1613092.htm

It may jog a few memories - from the children overboard
scandal to the AWB saga.

And how about sending troops into Iraq on a lie?
That Saddam Hussein's regime had weapons of
mass destruction. Howard put Australians in harms
way for no good reason on the basis of a lie.

Then we have Australian citizens locked up or
deported.
Women and children locked up behind barbed wire.
An Immigration Department hearing its Master's Voice
and obeying with enthusiasm.

And the list goes on. How many died in the illegal
fiasco in Iraq?

Add to that deaths in hospitals through cut backs in
funding - when Tony Abbott was Health Minister.

The Deputy Prime Minister Mark Vaile - his suitablility
for the job was questioned after he gave evidence to
the Cole Inquiry Commission where he could not recall
reading dozens of cables sent to his office on the
oil-for-food contracts - the kickback scandal -
over 4 years. He was accused of "gross negligence."

Enough said!

Oh Foxy
It just shows how pathetic you are.

Garrett/Labor made the policy
Garrett/Labor disregarded the warnings even from unions
Workers put the insulation in under current legislation
Workers did not know the added risks that garrett/labor ommited.

And since you where going on about other items

How about the Heiner affair where labor and certain unions hid child sex abuse
hid child sexual assualts

So also foxy how many people died in the awb scandal
even under downer when he was immigration minister garrett was after him to step down but nobody died on downers watch

Not like garrett
or labor
I take it your house hasnt burnt down but since it is up to about 180 house fires now garrett and labor and by the looks of it you see this as colatorel damage.

These are peoples homes
these are peoples live

Labor and unions have acted incompetantely and this is a disgrace and for those here that are labor and unions well how can there be any respect when you say nothing.

Probably to busy at work sites telling people you are sorting it out whilst getting their membership money for labor.

Shadow,

How would you like the list? and how far back do you want to go?
It all depends on how you want to measure it.
Personally, I think that chrome dome's competence as a minister is something that need attention. However, "him costing lives" that pure Murdock media public spectacle lynch mob propaganda to sell papers to justify their pathetic pestilential, parasitic existence.
BTW the defense dept isn't immune from non conflict screw ups.

Foxy

You are right to demand comparison with the previous Howard government.

Your architect was wrong to share responsibility for building work among the installer, the local building department and the home owner and the whole thrust of government building regulations should inform him/her otherwise.

From the Master Builders' or HIA's home building contracts you will see that the responsibility rests with the builder. Your role is to pay, shut-up and stay off site until work is complete.

In connection with insulation, Bazz mentioned the danger of placing insulation over downlight fittings including the transformers. I can give the name of a Qld insulation installer with a Gold Card (builder's licence) and industry membership that provided a quote for polyester ceiling insulation without shielding for six downlights in three rooms. Having had a fair bit to do with trades, there is Buckley's chance that a crew will install products, in this case shielding, that are not provided for in the quote.

Where I am coming from is that there are well-known systemic problems in the house building industry and any risk analysis should have advised the government against implementing its home insulation initiative.

The biggest single cause of poor work is the extreme demand for housing caused by the government's unrelenting record immigration targets (Big Australia). Trades are not available. The cost of material sky-rockets and shot-cuts are inevitable. That applies as much to new houses as it does to initiatives such as the insulation grant.

The second problem is ham-fisted government interference (much based on political ideology, not sense) in education, specifically the previous technical colleges and apprenticeships.

The third problem is the continual stop-go nature of investment in residential construction through even more ham-fisted interference in the market through various tax changes and interest rate hikes. Surely there has to be a better way of addressing inflation than the blunt weapon of suddenly hiking the interest rates (and prices) for shelter.

A few people have mentioned the dangers of being in the building industry, even without this recent Rudd-ATO manna-from-heaven.

A friend of mine, who was getting his work logbook hours up to become a psychologist, worked for a drug-narcotics counselling line.

By far the largest single group of people to come for help were contract building workers.

Long hours, stiff competition for work, all contractors with no security beyond that job.... these people were living off drugs to keep going.

Good for cheap labour, and steep profits for developers.

Perhaps this is why WHS is such an issue on building sites?

The economic system that we all so love, free enterprise and 'who dares wins', coupled with the bi-political objection to any regulation of anything much (beyond lawyers rorts perhaps...and newsagents, and chemists...oh, there are quite a few rorts still in operation aren't there?)adds up to a dysfunctional workkplace for many of us.

Employers always dominate the drawing up of regulations. One only has to look at truck/bus driving to see how dangerous the allowable hours are.

Instead of requiring 'economic' rates for carting junk all round the nation, it's far easier and cheaper to force long hours and rely on 'competition' to cripple entire families, who are then 'cared for' by the state, just to ensure the Chinese/foreign junk we all buy gets to the warehouse-shops as cheaply as possible.

And so it is here too.... cheaper to sort out a few 'inconvenient' deaths and houses burning down than it was to design a decent programme that delivered a quality outcome.

It would be interesting to see exactly how Greg Hunt and Tony Abbott would have designed this system, what with their 'free enterprise-no regulations' outlook on life.

A bloke truly becomes humbled to read the response to my tome.
Reading through the comments –

It is especially good to see practical comment from those connected with industry – as workers and as customers.

I note that there was even a Marie Antoinette – not to have them eat cake – but to have workers just sit in their cars.

Stap me!
What cars?

I’d like to continue by mentioning that since I first wrote my tome Mr. Garrett has revealed to me something of his nature.

Firstly, after temporary cessation of the recent ‘TitStorm’ massacre of our government webpages I found Garrett’s pages.
This person appears not to want direct communication – certainly not E-communication.
Such is his view of the paperless office!
Then, today I discover that he could not make a date to meet with those affected by the workplace health and safety issues we discuss here.

While I might support the principle that every group in society has a right to representation – even posturing vocalists in a rag-tag band – that such posturing idiots later protected by parliamentary privilege who refuse to speak with stakeholders should maybe quit and give those who do care some opportunity to repair the damage.