The Royal Commission into the tragic failure of the Rudd government’s home insulation scheme will begin today, and could prompt some intriguing revelations from politicians and public servants on the witness list.

Draft lists say many key figures will be asked to appear, including former and current department chiefs and ministerial advisors.

Former environment minister Peter Garrett, who was at one point in charge of managing the scheme, will reportedly appear at the commission through legal representation.

Former Commonwealth coordinator-general and current Infrastructure Department chief Mike Mrdak is expected to give evidence, as is now-retired Environment Department head Robyn Kruk.

Plenty of media has been focused on the request that former Labor Prime Ministers Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard provide documents, as well as the speculation that current Opposition frontbencher Penny Wong will be asked to give evidence too.

The $2.5 billion “pink batts” scheme was set up to provide economic stimulus to installers and help household heating and cooling bills across the country.

Tragically, four young men died during the roll-out of the scheme, and hundreds of house fires have since been blamed on the batts.

The Abbott government has specifically charged the Royal Commission with a mandate to find out how much the Rudd government knew about the program prior to its launch, in terms of advice, warnings or recommendations.

The probe will also investigate how advice, warnings and recommendations were identified, assessed and managed.

Recent hearings have heard that thousands of government documents have been handed over to form the basis of the first Commission hearings. The Coalition government has given assurances that it will try to protect the confidentiality of Cabinet documents, which normally would not see the light of day for up to thirty years.

The Commission has until June to produce an initial report on the findings of previous inquests and enquiries into the scheme. Head Commissioner Ian Hangar QC will also be able to recommend changes to laws, policies and procedures.

The ABC has compiled profiles of the four young men who were killed while installing the massive insulation scheme, which is accessible here.

The list of witnesses and parties as it currently stands is available here.