Royal Commission an opportunity to prevent future tragedies: MEA

The announcement of the Royal Commission into the Home Insulation Program has been welcomed by Master Electricians Australia (MEA). The industry body says the Royal Commission is an opportunity to prevent similar deaths in the future.

MEA Chief Executive Malcolm Richards said that while it is right that the federal government is determined to get to the bottom of the tragic deaths of four young men, the commission should look to the future and seek to ensure the tragedies are not repeated.

MEA has urged the commission to recommend more widespread use of safety switches on electrical circuits, in line with the recommendation of the Queensland Coroner handed down in July this year.

“In the event of an electric shock, a safety switch can cut the flow of power to a circuit in less than three one hundreds of the second - faster than the critical phase of a heartbeat,” Richards said.

“If safety switches had been installed on the affected circuits of those homes, it’s most likely three of these young men would be alive today.

“Many Australian homes have safety switches on their power circuits, and some even have protection for the lighting circuit, but very few have all circuits covered.

“This is a very simple measure that would add very little to the cost of a new home and could be retrofitted into existing homes when they are sold or rented.

“Without significant cost impost, state governments across Australia could take a very big step towards saving around 15 lives per year, and preventing the hospitalisation of another 300 people annually.

“We will seek to present evidence to the Royal Commission supporting safety switches, and we hope for the same strong recommendations that were made by the Queensland Coroner.”