THE Opposition claimed its first scalp this week when Environment Minister Peter Garrett was demoted following the roofing insulation scandal.

The heat Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was taking over Mr Garrett - a Mark Latham recruit - finally got too much.

Mr Rudd would have been wiser to demote Mr Garrett weeks ago, rather than exposing the Government to two more weeks of Opposition Leader Tony Abbott's blowtorch.

However, the PM's tactic of taking responsibility and providing assistance to businesses likely to be affected is a shrewd one.

Mr Abbott met some business owners who had met with the PM last week, only to find them relatively happy with the Government's response.

From a rural point of view, the relaxation of beef import rules has become the dominant issue.

The Cattle Council of Australia and the Government misread the reaction of the public, the Opposition and some beef producers as well as the credibility an alliance of Green, National, Liberal and independent senators holds.

But the hook that gains the mainstream media's attention is the fact Australian consumers will be given no chance to choose.

A meat pie labelled "Made in Australia" could contain 100 per cent imported beef.

Australian consumers deserve the right to choose Australian.

They deserve decent labelling and if they are concerned about the risk of "mad cow" disease, they deserve the right to choose beef from a country not affected by it.

It is this fact which further angers senators such as independent Nick Xenophon and maverick National Barnaby Joyce.

The Government would do well to learn from the Garrett saga on this one.

Ignoring the issue will not make it go away and the Opposition has shown it can be relentless and feverish in its attacks on Government mistakes.

Rather than let the saga gain momentum over the next month, it should disarm the Opposition by immediately announcing a plan to fix Australia's labelling laws.

It should also order an import risk assessment on imported beef.