Share This

Media Releases

Wednesday, 29th January 2020

Sports Rorts Inquiry To Examine Unanswered Questions

 

THE HON ANTHONY ALBANESE MP

LEADER OF THE AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

MEMBER FOR GRAYNDLER


SENATOR DON FARRELL

SHADOW SPECIAL MINISTER OF STATE

SHADOW MINISTER FOR SPORT

SHADOW MINISTER FOR TOURISM

SHADOW MINISTER ASSISTING THE LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION

SENATOR FOR SOUTH AUSTRALIA


SPORTS RORTS INQUIRY TO EXAMINE UNANSWERED QUESTIONS


Labor will next week move to establish a Select Committee to investigate the Morrison Government’s misuse of public funds under the Community Sport Infrastructure grants program.
The Morrison Government needs to come clean with the Australian people on the true extent of rorts under the program.
Clubs and organisations that applied for these grants did absolutely nothing wrong. They applied in good faith for what the government told them was a competitive, merit-assessed grants program.
But the Auditor General’s report and now almost daily whistle-blowing have exposed this Government’s political pork-barrelling campaign on an industrial scale.
Communities that were cheated by this government deserve answers. They deserve an apology. They deserve to have confidence this type of rorting doesn’t happen again.
Despite the commendable, forensic work conducted by the Australian National Audit Office, many important questions remain unanswered including:

  • Details on hundreds of additional applications that were rated highly by Sport Australia but rejected by the Government in favour of political picks;

  • Which applications the Government facilitated weeks or months after the window for applications closed, and in which electorates those projects were located; and

  • Who else, other than Bridget McKenzie and her office, had a hand in rorting this grants program.


Labor has sought the support of the crossbench to hold the Government accountable by establishing an inquiry, with the power to call witnesses and require the production of documents.
The proposed Select Committee will inquire into and report on the administration and award of funding under the Community Sport Infrastructure Grant Program, with particular reference to:
(a) Program design and guidelines;
(b) Requirements placed on applicants for funding;
(c) Management and assessment processes;
(d) Adherence to published assessment processes and program criteria;
(e) The role of the offices of the Minister, the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, and any external parties, in determining which grants would be awarded and who would announce the successful grants; and
(f) Any related programs or matters.

WEDNESDAY, 29 JANUARY 2020
About Anthony
Media Centre
Grayndler NewsTranscriptsSpeechesOpinion Pieces

Electorate Office

334a Marrickville Rd
Marrickville NSW 2204

Phone: 02 9564 3588

Parliament House Office

Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600

Phone: 02 6277 7700

DisclaimerPrivacyTerms

Electorate Office

334a Marrickville Rd
Marrickville NSW 2204

Phone: 02 9564 3588

Parliament House Office

Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600

Phone: 02 6277 7700

Phone: (02) 9564 3588
Fax: (02) 9564 1734
Email: A.Albanese.MP@aph.gov.au

We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which our offices stand and we pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging. We acknowledge the sorrow of the Stolen Generations and the impacts of colonisation on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We also recognise the resilience, strength and pride of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

Authorised by Anthony Albanese. 334a Marrickville Rd, Marrickville NSW 2204.

Sign up to hear directly from the Prime Minister

Loading...