Steve Irons (Swan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak about the Rudd government’s failed insulation scheme. Before I proceed, I will admit that, yes, I did have a haircut on the weekend. It is probably better described as a very close shave, but it was all for a good cause—the Leukaemia Foundation of Australia. To all the people who said to me that they would support me: it is now time to pay up, if you are listening.

This insulation scheme was always going to be a disaster for the industry, even if the planning, the design and the implementation by the government had not gone terribly wrong. A basic principle of any business and its sustainability is the word ‘saturation’—in other words, the saturation point. It is a basic principle that any overstimulation of an industry such as this scheme caused will spell doom for the industry. Once you have reached saturation point it is all over. I guess I could not expect anyone from the government side of the House to understand this principle. I do not think any of them have actually worked in or run a business in a trading industry. They may have worked in a service industry, such as in a legal firm, but they have certainly not worked in the rough and tough of the trading side of the building industry. I do not mean union business; I mean commercial competition in the building industry.

This scheme was a demolition scheme for the insulation industry. Mrs Gwen Larson from my electorate rang me about her concerns after she had insulation installed at her property. Mrs Larson was understandably concerned about the safety of her house, given the disastrous implementation of this Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts program. As someone who undertook an electrical apprenticeship, I can understand Mrs Larson’s concerns. I spent plenty of time in roof spaces as a young apprentice. When learning the electrical trade, I was always taught that safety was the most important, basic principle. It is the basic tenet of survival in a roof space. However, this principle of safety has been completely neglected by this government in the design of this program. The consequences have been severe. Four young Australians have tragically died as a result of this program which has caused over 100 house fires. There are 1,000 potentially deadly electrified roofs around the country, out of 48,000 homes with foil insulation installed. This is in addition to the 240,000 dangerous or substandard insulation jobs, out of one million non-foil insulation jobs.

Constituents like Mrs Larson will now be forced to wait for the government to inspect her property. Unfortunately, for my constituent, there is still a great deal of uncertainty about how this government will get around to inspecting her property. She has been sitting home at night with the lights off because she is worried about them catching on fire. You might think that is funny, Madam Deputy Speaker, but it is serious.

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I do not find it funny.

Steve Irons (Swan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The deaths of four individuals are obviously the saddest consequences of this mismanaged program, and I send my condolences to the families of those young men. The financial recklessness is also disappointing and costs the country action on the environment. The $2.7 billion that was added to this country’s debt to pay for this poorly managed program will have to be paid off by future generations. (Time expired)

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I will just add that I do not find it all funny.