Peter Garrett (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts) Share this | Hansard source

As the House is aware, Labor is actively engaged in cutting wasteful spending from the previous era and particularly in exercising the necessary disciplines in response to the economic circumstances that the country faces. But, in the lead-up to the last election, the member for Wentworth had ministerial responsibility for the Community Water Grants program. This program provided community organisations, schools and Indigenous communities with the opportunity to apply for grants worth up to $50,000 for water saving, recycling and treatment projects. Round 1, announced in March 2006, had approximately 5,000 applications from across Australia. The member for Wentworth approved 1,750, amounting to a cost of approximately $61 million. Round 2 funding, announced in late 2006 and early 2007, was approved for 1,611 projects totalling $66.7 million. But in May last year the member for Wentworth announced $200 million to help communities save water, and the funding was proposed to extend the program until 2012-13. Round 3 grants were announced on 22 October last year, during the federal election campaign. With his eye firmly on the federal election day, the member for Wentworth funded 4,661 Community Water Grants projects, worth $174.8 million over the next year. This was six years of funding in one financial year—clear evidence that the member for Wentworth is incapable of balancing any budget. A funding blow-out of this nature represents almost double the combined amount of funding approved for round 1 and round 2.

So let us be clear. The member for Wentworth took it upon himself to try to assist the re-election prospects of the former Howard government by extending the Community Water Grants program for six years and then spending all that money in the period leading up to the federal election.

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