PM 'too proud' - really? No? Surely not! Proud isn't quite the word I was thinking of.

• February 26, 2010 - 5:24AM

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is too proud to apologise to the families of four men who died as a result of the failed home insulation scheme, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says.

On Thursday Mr Rudd admitted he didn't ask enough questions about the rollout of the scheme and accepted responsibility for the collapse of the compliance scheme.

Mr Abbott labelled the prime minister's regrets as "pretty weak, lame excuses".

"I just thought it was very, very sad that he didn't have the decency to apologise to the families of those four young men who died in association with this program," Mr Abbott told the Nine Network on Friday.

"I think we've got a prime minister who's happy to apologise for things that he isn't responsible for, but is too proud to apologise for the things he is responsible for."

Mr Abbott has called for Environment Minister Peter Garrett to be sacked after the "most tragically bungled governmental program in living memory" under his watch.

He said the comprehensive mess had resulted in four deaths, 93 house fires and left 48,000 houses potentially electrified.

Meanwhile, officials from the prime minister's department will front a Senate inquiry hearing on Friday to answer questions about the bungled scheme.

Too proud? Too out of touch really!

Besides, it may well be where the buck-stops, the PM that is, but this attempt to wrap Garrett in cotton-wool and protect him from the nasty nasty finger pointing of the opposition in Parliament, and the rest of Australia, is just more KRudd!

The fluff is getting thin Mr Rudd, and Sunrise, Good News Week or Insiders are not going to work this election-year Mr Rudd. When you show the Australian electorate some substance, then maybe they will accept your shake of the sauce bottle!

Sylvestor