THE employer of an inexperienced teenage worker killed while installing pink batts insulation under a federal scheme had been urged by a government official to make money "while the sun shines", an inquest has heard.
Rueben Kelly Barnes, 16, was wearing socks and sandals on his feet and no protective clothing when he was electrocuted at Stanwell in central Queensland while putting in insulation in a ceiling for Arrow Property Maintenance in November 2009.
A first-year apprentice carpenter, he had worked for the company for just three weeks.
His death is one of three in Queensland of pink batts installers being investigated by the state coroner in a public hearing that opened yesterday in Brisbane. The court was told that the boy was given no protective items by the company -- apart from sunscreen -- and received no formal training before being put to work under the Rudd government scheme.
The program was axed in the face of an outcry over safety and claim of rorting by some suppliers.
The inquest heard Barnes was electrocuted when he touched a "live" metal ceiling plank. Unbeknown to Barnes and his co-workers, it had been electrified years before when a metal screw was accidentally driven through wiring during building work.
Arrow director Richard Jackson told the inquest he was surprised the company did not have to jump through many hoops when signing up for the government scheme, part of an economic stimulus package launched in 2009 in response to the global financial crisis.
Mr Jackson said a government department official, when asked by his brother whether there were more forms to complete, had said: "Go and make money while the sun shines."
