Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has acknowledged the safety standards his Government put in place for the failed home insulation scheme were inadequate.
Four insulation installers died and more than 100 house fires were linked to the scheme before it was shut down earlier this year.
The Government yesterday released letters in which then environment minister Peter Garrett warned Mr Rudd about unacceptably high health and safety risks months before the scheme was terminated.
Mr Rudd has told Channel Seven the warnings were heeded but mistakes were made.
"The minister, responding to industry, responding to concerns out there in the community, said, 'here is a problem, we need to do X,Y and Z about it'," Mr Rudd said.
"What Cabinet and I did through correspondence was say, 'OK fine, do that,' and that's what happened. But the bottom line is the measures at the end of the day were not sufficient."
A letter from Mr Garrett on October 28 last year raised concerns about safety.
The letter asked that the proposed reduced rebate take effect from the date of announcement to prevent a rush for installers that might have negative consequences for the quality of installation, including increasing the risk of fire.
That same month, in a separate letter, Mr Garrett informed Mr Rudd he was working with various stakeholders to improve safety.
In November the Government banned the use of metal fasteners with foil insulation before suspending the scheme in February.
The Government has refused to release a fourth letter written to Mr Rudd last August, citing cabinet confidentiality.
