Compo for 'pink batts' businesses

The federal government is close to finalising its response to the 2009-10 home insulation program which led to fires and deaths.

Businesses affected by the botched Labor home insulation program will be compensated by April.

Environment Minister Greg Hunt on Friday released the final update on the government's response to the program, which ran from 2009 to 2010.

Mr Hunt said payments to pre-existing insulation installation businesses adversely affected by the program would be completed by April.

The government last year confirmed compensation had been paid to the families of four men killed under the program - Matthew Fuller, Rueben Barnes, Mitchell Sweeney and Marcus Wilson.

Mr Hunt said in the update that bureaucrats behind the scheme would not be formally investigated, however new checks and balances within the public service had been put in place.

A review by Australian Public Service Commissioner John Lloyd completed in March last year concluded that there was "not a sufficient basis for formal investigations of individual public servants to proceed".

The minister said work in other areas such as improving safety in roof spaces and ensuring all federal government programs minimise work health and safety was continuing.

In a 112-page report attached to the minister's statement, former senior bureaucrat Professor Peter Shergold makes a number of recommendations for improvements to the way in which the public service operates.

Prof Shergold calls for freedom of information laws to be tightened to ensure public servants can better deliver frank and fearless advice.

"The Freedom of Information Act should be amended to ensure that advice and opinion provided to support the deliberative processes of government policy formulation remain confidential," Prof Shergold says.

He also calls for greater respect of confidential discussions between senior officials and ministers.

One of the criticisms of the home insulation program was the lack of documentation and the heavy reliance on oral advice, which meant there were no written reasons for decisions which were made.


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