The insulation debate has become the greatest example of federal labors failings. It has nothing to do with the original problem that despite much of the in thinking was never as big as most made out. This can be argued extensively but in the end the problem lies at all three levels of government and the flaws in their respective systems of building inspection, OH&S and administrative accountability. The whole problem with the insulation installation could have been fixed by requiring insulation to have a building approval under the local government act. The states would have to come to the party deeming it a complying development stopping delays in approval. This would have meant that the jobs would have been inspected by building surveyors creating a large employment and income stream not just for the insulation industry but for private building surveyors and local government.

No the greatest failings of the Government is their inability to bury issues that are done. The insulation diaster will take years to completely sort out but some how the government cant seem to get the understanding over to the electorate of how this will go and in so doing finish the whole issue.

We can cover many current issues this way as so much public mood is affected by rubbish in news papers and the governments lack of ability to explain its self. I argued the BER once before here and was told i had no idea and was given two web referrals, one to Ray Hadley the other to a comercial housing company. I can only say using these types of references as proof of the overwhelmingly negative point, only confirms my worst fears. The general population are mislead and uninterested in the truth.

No citizen should have to put up with the circumstance we have now where there is no one set of robust, enforceable building regulations governing home building in Australia.

This is a far higher priority than the federal government fooling around with (say) education, but of course all political parties like to pontificate on education because at the federal level it is all care and no responsibility. It was the federal Labor government's blundering foray into home insulation that raised the red flag nationally about the sorry state of the building industry in Australia.

A home is usually the largest single purchase a citizen will make in a lifetime. It is shelter, security and a nest egg for retirement. In the 21st Century it is an outrage that home owners remain at the mercy of an industry where poorly designed homes and shoddy, corner-cutting, beggar-the-consumer construction is commonplace.

Does any homeowner still imagine he/she is 'protected' by the diplomatic toothless tigers in the State building commissions? Quite obviously the lesson of the insulation debacle is a resounding "No".

It is typical of a situation where big money has politicians captive, that all political parties are turning a blind eye to the systemic problems in the home building industry that were unveiled by the rorting of the home insulation subsidy. The furore of excessive quotes and poor work performed for school construction grants provides more examples, as more were needed.

But could the home construction industry guarantee tradesman-like work if it really tried? Now that is a question that no-one really wants to answer, otherwise building standards would be national and compliance with obligatory to protect good builders.

The time that it will take to inspect 150,000 houses will probably
justify the decision to not inspect all the rest because those
not yet inspected would have burnt down by then, so there is probably
no problem with those houses.

This reasoning will probably be applied to hospital waiting lists.
See how much money will be saved if 75% of the waiting list dies off !

Is this Ruddthink or Swannthink ?

True, Labor were left standing when the music stopped, but the shonks and cowboys were already in the building industry to prey upon home owners. They were there during the Howard days and it seems that regardless of who wins federal government in the future, they will still be wreacking havoc with vulnerable homeowners well into the future.

Regarding the insulation mess, the Liberals are making political capital out of the losses and vulnerability of home owners but they are not proposing to change the lax self-regulation that permits the abuses to occur.

Where else in the western democracies would builders get away with laying shower tiles direct to a chipboard floor, leaving out necessary damp courses, or stretching electrical wiring in a roof cavity and get away with it, leaving the homeowner to prove a fault through damage sustained within a six year 'insurance' period?

Roof insulation? Of course there is always suspect work there too and the home insulation grant 'over-cooked' the greed of the usual suspects.

None of the political parties have any credibility in this. However, if Labor had been smarter, they would have proposed national home building laws that required compliance with the Building Code, Australian Standards and manufacturers' installation guidelines as the absolute minimum in home construction.

The building industry is well regulated in this country. Local government acts as the regulatory body, State government is the legislative and planning body and the Australian standards and Building codes are the national regulations. Both the latter are private commercial bodies and this is where the problem lies. These standards are almost a national secret unless you want to pay thousands a year to access them. This information should be freely available as it is in the publics interest to have access to this. Other problems in the system happen because developers complain about the time council takes to approve developments, so the State pushes for bad decisions against the interests of the public.

Issues such as poorly installed water proofing should never happen as this is to be inspected as part of the surveying process. Matters such as insulation though don't seem to be under any great control nor does the electrical trades where most of the problem in the insulation debate lies. Poorly designed down lights and exposed wiring in the roofs of houses and suddenly this gross incompetence that has been allowed to perpetuate itself for generations is all the fault of one very successful government scheme. Despite all the crowing the insulation scheme has worked a treat, it did what it was meant to do and got lots of money into the community in jobs, business and supply. The disaster is the failure of all government over generations and the communities indifference to proper process over profit has been exposed and now punishment will be handed out to one poor little scheme that did it's job. Pity the government won't tell anyone how they are fixing the problem, they prefer to let the disaffected do that.

Let's not complain as we are the culprits. The process for approving a development is slow so we push for the states to make the councils do it quicker and then blame anyone we can when standards are falling. It is our attitude toward profit and expediency over proper process and responsibility that allows these problems to fester.

Seems about right to me Cornflower and nairbe.

It is a shame that such a positive thing turned to s%#t, through
such a low element in our society, spoiling it for everyone.

It's just un-Australian stuff of which the Govt were also victim. I think.

It's also, of the same stuff to attempt to dwell on such issues for political
purpose with far more important things currently at stake, such as the countries
economic future and outlook.