Madam Speaker, when the Government received this report about four weeks ago, I spoke briefly in this Parliament and I indicated that I would have more to say by the end of the month and thank you for indulgence to say a little more about this Royal Commission report now.
Madam Speaker, we did receive the report on 1 September, and the report from Royal Commissioner Ian Hanger AM QC does provide victims’ families with some long-awaited answers – answers that they desperately crave, given that four young men in the prime of life lost their lives as consequence of this bungled programme.
In addition to the lives lost, homes were damaged or destroy and many businesses were badly affected or ruined.
So, Madam Speaker, we do owe it to Matthew Fuller, Rueben Barnes, Mitchell Sweeney and Marcus Wilson and to their families, to ensure that this should never happen again.
If we don't learn from the past, Madam Speaker, we tend to repeat it.
So, today, I wish briefly to set out the Government's interim measures as promised.
First, I’ve asked Minister Hunt to assume responsibility to oversee the Commonwealth response and to coordinate actions across departments and Ministers and in this he’ll be assisted by the Hon. Bob Baldwin MP, Parliamentary Secretary for Industry. He’ll provide updates to me and will deliver the final comprehensive Government response by the end of this year.
Now, Madam Speaker, as you’ll probably recall, the report of the Royal Commissioner makes a series of findings about occupational health and safety. This programme was a failure of government, and it cascaded into failures in the workplace, so I've asked the Minister for Employment to examine these findings, particularly as they relate to the reliance on the Commonwealth on state and territory laws and his work will inform the Government's final response.
I intend also to raise the Commissioner's recommendations to improve safety in roof cavities at the next COAG meeting. Because, Madam Speaker, the safety of people at work is indeed a national concern, it's a concern that everyone in this Parliament and all governments should cooperate to ensure that people who go to work return safely home.
Matthew Fuller, Rueben Barnes, Mitchell Sweeney and Marcus Wilson, went to work and tragically they did never return home and the report makes it clear that their deaths could have been avoided had things been done differently. That’s why Minister Hunt and the Minister for Finance have been asked to recommend options to compensate their next of kin, because, although nothing can bring them back, the Barnes, Fuller, Sweeney and Wilson families should know that government won't walk away; that government accepts responsibility and will do its best to make amends.
Madam Speaker, while nothing can compare to the pain of losing a child, there were other families who also suffered in serious ways. Pre-existing home insulation businesses, large and small, have suffered significant losses as a result of this programme. They trusted government and were let down. So I’ve ask the Attorney-General, the Minister for Industry and the Minister for Finance, to develop options for a scheme that will compensate those pre-existing businesses who were adversely affected.
Madam Speaker, the Royal Commissioner's report provides a sobering account of the role of government in developing and delivering policy and programmes. It's a reminder of what can happen when there is a government-knows-best approach. I am confident that the processes of government have subsequently changed and improve but they can always be better. That is why I’ve asked Minister Hunt to recommend an external expert to examine and address the issues identified and the recommendations relating to the role of government in this tragic programme. This expert will examine the role of ministers and officials in the development of policy and the delivery of programmes to see what lessons can be learnt.
An external report is necessary, rather than asking government or the public service to review objectively and comprehensively their own processes.
So, Madam Speaker, the Minister for Employment in his capacity as Minister Assisting for the Public Service has been asked to consider an appropriate way to assess the report's findings about public servants against the Australian Public Service's code of conduct.
I do wish to stress, though, that this is not a witch-hunt but we do need to recognise that the home insulation programme was a tragic failure; a failure of bureaucracy and a workplace failure as well as a political failure and all of us should learn from this failure because, Madam Speaker, there will be times in the future when governments believe that urgent action is required, but even urgent action has to be prudent, cautious and wise.
Madam Speaker, just like the Royal Commission itself, this interim response is designed to work out what happened, what could have been done better and what is necessary to prevent it from happening again. All of us should work to ensure that wiser decisions and better government become the ultimate legacy of this tragic programme.
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