Queensland coroner attacks rush to introduce federal scheme and refers trade employers for possible prosecution
Some supervisors and employers of young tradesmen killed during installations for the government's home insulation scheme could face criminal charges for work malpractice and perjury following recommendation by the Queensland coroner.
Queensland coroner Michael Barnes found the commonwealth's rush in introducing the home insulation program (HIP) was mostly to blame for the deaths of three young men, but has been critical of the state government's role as well the employers and supervisors.
"Because a major focus of this program was the stimulation of the economy to counter the effects of the global financial crisis it needed to proceed far more quickly than that, but not at the cost of human life," he said.
The coronial inquest related to the deaths of Matthew Fuller, 25, Rueben Barnes, 16, and Mitchell Sweeney, 22, who were all killed between October 2009 and February 2010 while fitting insulation in Queensland homes as part of a federal government scheme under the Rudd government.
The coroner found all three men were electrocuted while in roofs where power had not been cut off and there were a range of safety issues in each case.
He referred Rueben Barnes's employers Christopher and Richard Jackson to the Department of Justice and the attorney general to decide whether they should face prosecution for breaching the Electrical Safety Act in the light of his findings they failed to properly train employees, including Rueben Barnes, and to follow work safety guidelines.
Christopher Jackson was also referred to the DPP for possible perjury charges after Coroner Barnes found he may have lied to the court about inspecting the work site on the morning of Rueben Barnes's death and filling out a work method statement that listed the risks at the site.
Supervisor Ben McKay was found to have left an inexperienced Fuller to work unsupervised and was referred for possible prosecution for breaching the Workplace Health and Safety Act.
The state government was also criticised for not being proactive in managing safety issues when the commonwealth had announced such a large project.
Coroner Barnes said the commonwealth had tried at least twice to start a joint approach to potential safety issues caused by the program with Queensland workplace safety agencies but they did not respond and have failed to respond even after the deaths of three men.
"There was no evidence put before the court that the state government agencies which might have been expected to proactively respond to the heightened risks engendered by the HIP have undertaken similar reviews to ensure they react more effectively if a similar commonwealth project is announced in future," he said.
Coroner Barnes said he identified numerous incidents of administrative and regulatory failing when it came to the introduction of the program.
He also found there was little awareness about roofs being a "typically dangerous electrical place" among other professionals such as builders, tilers, painters and pest controllers and also among homeowners.
He recommended a public awareness campaign about safety in roofs.
Rudd was in Indonesia but the resources and energy minister, Gary Gray, said the government would carefully consider the recommendations, including a public awareness campaign about the dangers of roof cavities.
The coroner criticised the commonwealth for relying on administrative arrangements, rather than specific legislation, to support the program.
Gray said it was not uncommon to rely on state and territory legislation where the commonwealth may not have constitutional power to legislate to cover an entire industry.
"In this case, the commonwealth had limited powers to legislate for specific industry safety requirements and relied on state safety legislation," he said.
"Commonwealth legislation would have duplicated state and territory laws and there was no indication that the existing laws were inadequate to ensure worker safety."
The deputy opposition leader, Julie Bishop, called on him to release all correspondence in relation to the program.
"He should release all of the letters that were sent to his government warning of these risks and then explain why it was they were ignored," she said.
"This was Kevin Rudd's scheme. He came up with a number of stimulus programs in response to the global financial crisis. We now know that these schemes were rushed out quickly, we now know that the Queensland coroner that the pink batts scheme in particular didn't pay attention to the risks that were a danger to human life, that is the responsibility of government."
The HIP was part of the $42bn stimulus package used by the Rudd government to try to mitigate the effects of the global financial crisis in Australia.
"It's scandalous, I cannot think of a worse example of a federal government rolling out a service delivery program than one where people actually lost their lives," Bishop said.
"There was damage done to property, there was loss of life, it has been an utter waste of money."
Through his lawyer, Mark Williams, Rueben Barnes's father, Murray Barnes, said he was happy with the coroner's recommendations, hoping they would prevent a similar tragedy.
"He feels like justice has been done to an extent, but no amount of justice can bring back his son," Williams said.
"Children should be burying their parents as opposed to the other way around."