Safety costs hit bungled scheme

FEWER homes will have insulation installed under the government's suspended rebate in order to pay for safety measures to shore up the scheme, Treasurer Wayne Swan says.

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AND THE Oscar for supporting man goes to (slight pause as I fumble with the envelope): Greg Combet, for his role as "Mr Fix-it" in The Great Insulation Debacle, directed by Peter Garrett and produced by GFC Productions.

THE TOP TEN What everyone was talking about this week.

AUSTRALIA and Indonesia signed a new pact to tackle people smuggling. Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono addressed Federal Parliament, saying his country would introduce five-year jail sentences for those convicted. Yudhoyono called on both countries to dismiss national stereotyping. In talks with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, he also spoke of his sympathy for the relatives of the Balibo five. The day before, Governor-General Quentin Bryce appointed Yudhoyono an honorary companion of the Order of Australia. The Government gave him a Maton guitar. Yudhoyono also confirmed during his visit that Dulmatin, a mastermind of the Bali bombings, had been killed in a police raid near Jakarta.

Rudd pledges no batts blowout

THE multimillion-dollar cost of fixing the bungled home insulation program will be met by drawing unspent money from the scheme that could otherwise have been used to insulate more homes, the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, says.