Page 683 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 24 February 2010
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commonwealth installation program started, he heralded “1 July 2009” as he got “hear, hears” from his six colleagues on the government benches. He went on to say:
I have clearly indicated to this place that the government has received no complaints about dodgy installation since the commonwealth program commenced.
I wonder whether that is completely true. In June, there was a complaint about insulation, but here you have Mr Corbell saying the program did not start until 1 July 2009.
Mr Hanson: Shame!
MR COE: Yes. On 26 February, four months earlier, there was this announcement from Kevin Rudd:
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd today announced a new fast track process so that homeowners can start applying for free ceiling insulation immediately.
Immediately; not 1 July, but 26 February. So when Simon Corbell came into this place last Thursday and said that the program started on 1 July and that, therefore, any complaint we had in June does not count, I find completely special from a minister that has shown no responsibility to actually admit that there are issues here and that he has got to address them. Instead, he is simply running away from it. It really is a disastrous display in a disastrous situation.
It is pretty interesting when he was asked about this in question time yesterday. He said.
… I asked to be briefed in full in relation to all of the issues I should be aware of prior to answering questions in the Assembly that afternoon.
In other words, the minister was only interested in a briefing when his reputation was at stake in February. That was the only time he became interested in this. The minister, who is responsible for safety in the ACT, only became interested in the issue when he knew he would face Assembly questions. There was no responsibility in terms of policy, no responsibility for being minister. He only thought about the political ramifications for himself.
This guy is the Peter Garrett of Canberra, perhaps without the fame, the stunning career beforehand and a fan base. Otherwise, this guy is the Peter Garrett of Canberra. He is incompetent and neglectful. It is pretty ordinary.
In response to a previous question on 11 February, he also said:
… the government does not have any documents about the home insulation program because we do not run the home insulation program.
The minister made this claim when the government had already entered into a memorandum of understanding with the commonwealth on the delivery of the program. His claims do not stack up.
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