House debates

Tuesday, 23 February 2010

Questions without Notice

Home Insulation Program

3:23 pm

Photo of Tony AbbottTony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. I refer the Prime Minister to the case of Mr Russell Browning, whose insulation business is in his electorate, and the 14 workers sacked yesterday because of the mayhem caused by the maladministration of the Home Insulation Program and I ask the Prime Minister: isn’t it the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts, Mr Garrett, who should be sacked, not those 14 workers in the Prime Minister’s own electorate?

Photo of Kevin RuddKevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for his question. I would draw the honourable member’s attention to the employment which has arisen as a consequence of this program—a program which was opposed by those opposite at the very beginning. That is the first point.

The second thing I would draw to the honourable member’s intention is that the home efficiency rebate program, which is scheduled to commence on 1 June, represents continued investment on the part of the government in home insulation and solar panels. Thirdly, I would say in response to the honourable member’s question that, when it comes to transitional industry assistance, the minister has already indicated the form which that could take and that affected businesses are, of course, able to contact the minister. Fourthly, for those workers who are affected by the cancellation of the Home Insulation Program, specific arrangements have been put in place by the Minister for Employment Participation. I would also draw those to the attention of the House.

The Minister for Employment Participation has announced a $10 million commitment for 2,000 structural adjustment places in the Productivity Places Program for insulation workers affected by changes. Secondly, there are training places available to retrain insulation workers for new jobs. These are on top of the 4,000 places announced last year to help workers transition from the insulation industry—2,000 places in the Language, Literacy and Numeracy Program and 2,000 Apprenticeships Access places. These have been announced previously. They were put in place because this program, when it was originally established, had a finite budget and a finite time line. That is why the government was concerned to provide mechanisms for those who had been employed within it to transition from it into permanent employment elsewhere.

These are the various measures which the government has put in place. I would again draw the honourable member’s attention to the fact that the employment which has been created by this program over the last 12 months was, frankly, opposed in every measure by those opposite, as they opposed every other stimulus measure put forward by the government in its February 2009 package.