Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Climate Action, Environment and Heritage) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts. Will the minister confirm that the CEO of the peak body representing over 5,000 electrical and communications contractors, the National Electrical and Communications Association, or NECA, wrote to him in March last year and warned, whilst thermal insulation in ceilings is a relatively inexpensive way of reducing energy consumption in residential premises:

There are inherent dangers when installed inappropriately near electrical equipment and cables.

Minister, why have you waited for almost 12 months to acknowledge the electrical and fire risk facing homeowners and installers with foil insulation, and why have you only just now responded to a matter on which we have sought a response previously?

Peter Garrett (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I can confirm that correspondence, as I can confirm a series of processes that were underway in relation to both our discussions with the insulation industry as a whole and advice that I received from my department as to the most appropriate set of guidelines to deliver safe and effective home insulation to the people of Australia. Subsequent to that correspondence I have met with industry and agreed that a number of measures, as were determined to be appropriate, be brought into place in relation to the guidelines. I made a number of decisions in respect of that, and I have made another decision today.

In November, both on the advice of the department and following discussions with the industry, electrical trades groups and others, we banned the use of metal fasteners when installing insulation foil in ceilings. That is because if these metal fasteners are used there is the potential for conductivity to take place in the ceiling. That posed an unnecessary risk and on that basis I made that decision to ban metal fasteners—a decision that was acknowledged by all those portions of the insulation industry at the time. As well as that, I have made a decision to ensure that there is a mandatory risk assessment for ceiling insulation so that every installer ascertains the level of risk prior to actually beginning that insulation task. Today I can announce that every home that has foil insulation installed under the government’s Home Insulation Program will undergo an electrical safety inspection as a consequence of the initial targeted audit of foil insulation in Queensland homes in particular. This is because safety is an absolute priority for this government. It always has been, and decisions I have made in the past reflect that—as does the decision I have made today.