The federal government will push ahead with compensation payments for the families of workers who died installing home insulation, but has stepped back from taking disciplinary action against bureaucrats who were found by the royal commission to have failed in their duty of care over the program.
The federal environment minister, Greg Hunt, on Tuesday released the government’s response to the royal commission into Labor’s home insulation program, which saw the death of four young men between 2009 and 2010.
The government has committed to providing the families of dead installers, Matthew Fuller, Reuben Barnes, Mitchell Sweeney and Marcus Wilson, with compensation.
“Subject to final agreement with the families I expect that the compensation process will be completed in early in 2015,” a statement released by Hunt on Tuesday read.
Ian Hanger, who led the royal commission, will help determine the amount that each family receives.
Hanger will also act as a mediator for compensation payments made to businesses that have been adversely affected by the home insulation program (HIP).
The government’s response makes no reference to Rudd, Gillard, former environment ministers Peter Garrett or Greg Combet, or to any other senior members of the former government, who prime minister Tony Abbott had previously accused of being complicit in the HIP’s “massive policy failure”.
Abbott announced the $25m royal commission shortly after the last federal election. He had been pursuing the issue from opposition, calling on former prime ministers Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard to take responsibility for the deaths of the men.
The royal commission released its report in September, saying that the former Rudd government’s rollout of the program, which was implemented as an economic stimulus exercise to keep Australia from falling into recession during the global financial crisis, was fundamentally flawed and that the workers’ deaths could have been avoided. The commission also blamed senior bureaucrats for shortcomings of the program.
“The reality is that the Australian government conceived of, devised, designed and implemented a program that enabled very large numbers of inexperienced workers, often engaged by unscrupulous and avaricious employers or head contractors, who were themselves inexperienced in insulation installation – to undertake potentially dangerous work. It should have done more to protect them,” the royal commissioner, Ian Hanger, found in August.
“In my view, each death would, and should, not have occurred had the home insulation program been properly designed and implemented. The decision to permit the use of reflective foil sheeting as ceiling insulation was, in my view, fundamentally flawed. It directly contributed to the deaths of Mr Fuller and Mr Sweeney,” he said.
Hanger blamed the program’s shortcomings on senior bureaucrats, and recommended new laws be enacted to punish them.
The government has stepped back from that recommendation, starting a new review into the responsibilities of senior public servants involved in the HIP. That review is due to finish in February.
“The government will make further announcements about specific elements of the response in coming months,” Hunt’s response said.
The response to the commission also notes that the government will work with the states and territories under Coag arrangements to “achieve a harmonised approach to roof safety”.
State and territory representatives of Safe Work Australia will also work with commonwealth representatives on formulating workplace health and safety standards for large projects.
