Hi Belly,

There are two perspectives here, those who think it is appropriate to hold a Royal Commission and those who don’t.

There are those who do support an RC and are focused on the families of those who lost their lives, those who were injured, those who invested their own funds to start businesses as installers, those who expanded their businesses and employed extra workers, those businesses who imported large stocks to meet demand, those who signed up to have the pink bats installed in their homes, some losing their homes to resulting fires, those paying extra insurance premiums to cover losses and most importantly of all, the fact that all these people were losers, some tragically in some shape or form.

It beggars belief that someone like you, grounded in the compassion for industrial safety of workers, rights for jobs, fair working conditions, the right to earn a living to feed ones family, secure employment, the protection of trade union membership, the right to an industrial voice and compensation for the mistakes of others, how could you take a position contrary to everything you have ever stood for and not support a full investigation?.

You are now willing to trot out an incomprehensible stream of mitigation, excuses and misdirection’s. It is Abbotts fault, the industry’s fault, it is the victims fault, it is everything except ALP culpability and incompetence.

You should hang your head in abject shame for even attempting to excuse that which is contrary to everything you have ever stood for.

There was a time in your life when you would have stood strong for such victims, now you shame yourself because the need to support what is left of your Unions and ALP is greater than the feeble heart that once beat in time with the workers of Australia.

You are a disgrace to your former self.

Spindoc I will die proud of my history as a union official.
Proud too that my ex members still like and trust me.
Too that some of this country,s civil construction site managers have a mutual liking and respect for me.
That respect was not won by being a soft unionist.
But an ability to see both sides and to cut the junk and get down to fixing the issues.
So my views in this thread are not a fabrication, in no way a defense of ANY ONE, but my truly held thoughts and opinions.
Built too on the understanding past efforts of SOME UNIONS and the wish to hide unsafe practices by bosses, along with a government department slothful and unproductive, often employing the out casts of the union movement.
Work cover truly is the owner of workplace safety as government agent, in law and in truth, for not policing these jobs.
*owns this issue*
Unions have been held at arms length, kept as they are today, away from the housing industry.
Small projects and housing is more often than not, are non union because of contractors wish and too because the more radical unions can not get members.
Abbott is intent on cutting costs, sometimes doing true harm to Education, Health and welfare.
He has enough money however to pay women on $150.000 a year half a years salary.
He too is willing to spend this RC money to try the imposable, further slander an ex PM who is now an EX politician.
Look at my posts try to find other than truth from a man who understands the OHXS laws, who even targets some on his side right here.
Spindoc mate, we are not enemy's but if you can not open your heart and mind, not see my words, all of them, for what they truly are you have no reason to throw mud at me.
Remember the polls, ask again is the continuing negativity of this flawed man a reason Australia is not buying him?

Priests who raped children years ago are facing a royal commission for their crimes, why should Rudd and Garret not face the parents of the youngsters they had a role in killing?

Hi Belly,

A very merry Christmas to you and yours . I've just taken the turkey out of the oven and there are a dozen or so hungry guests to feed, the prawns and crabs are gone and we are well on our way to a food coma.

When you are over your celebrations perhaps you might turn your attention to those less fortunate, those who suffered as a result of the pink bats issue and how they might be facing this Christmas.

Your fine words might firstly recognise that many suffered because of this "mistake" which hapennned under an ALP government. Rather than the nonsensical rhetoric about everything that was an excuse. Could you at the very least acknowledge that many were hurt, some fatally, some economically under the scheme and watch of the ALP?

After that you don't need to say more, no industrial relations issues, no Maggie Thatcher, no oh&s, no Penalty rates, no Tony Abbott, no LNP, just the government of the day, just the ALP.

Have the good grace to acknowledge reality and stop making excuses. Those who are hurting don't need it.

I don't see anything coming out of this, don't we already know what happened. I see this as an exercise in wasted money. Money that could be given to Abbott's rich mothers.
I think there is a few Abbott supporters here that have been scalded and are ready to blame anything and anyone for Abbott's inability to do anything.

It is truly disgraceful that OLO posters who may have previously called for a Royal Commission into a stupid sex video by defence cadets cannot see any reason for an inquiry into the deaths of four men, serious injury to many more, fires in homes and many thousands more people put at similar risk.

This sums up what the RC is all about,

<Commissioner Ian Hanger QC officially opened his investigation with the first public hearing in Brisbane this morning, vowing to find answers as yet uncovered by coronial inquests and other inquiries into the botched stimulus program.

"My aim is to find answers to the questions unresolved in previous inquiries,'' he told the hearing.

"What really went wrong? What made it go wrong? And how can this commission assist government and industry to ensure that circumstances like the ones we face here do not happen again?''

Four young men died in late 2009 and early 2010 during the rollout of the scheme: Matthew Fuller, Rueben Barnes, Mitchell Sweeney and Marcus Wilson.

Outside court, Matthew Fuller's parents Kevin and Christine Fuller said they wanted the whole truth about their son's death to emerge.

Mr Fuller said he did not want another family to endure what his had.

He said the defining problem that led to Matthew's death was: ``Arrogance, stupidity and assumptions by everyone ...(the attitude of) let's just roll it out, make it happen and who cares''.

Mr and Mrs Fuller said they felt their son, and the other three men killed, had been sacrificed for the economy.

"Not only his, but everyone including all of us around here now are talking about four people who got killed,'' Mr Fuller said.

"We don't talk about the huge number that got almost killed, or were severely injured and are still suffering mentally and physically to this day.

"Yes, we suffer every day as you can tell right now, from Matthew's death.''

Mr Fuller said it was often overlooked that more people were injured, houses were burnt and insulation installers' lives were put at risk.>

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/my-aim-to-find-answers-home-insulation-inquiry-head/story-fn59niix-1226788877804