Carol Brown (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to Senator Santoro, Minister representing the Minister for Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs. Is the minister aware of yesterday’s audit report criticising the government’s administration of $1 billion worth of community sector grants that were awarded last year? Didn’t the Audit Office find that 19 per cent of grants involved incorrect payments or payments being made without authority, only nine per cent of grant recipients provided proper audited financial accounts as required and 88 per cent of multiyear agreements did not have proper authorisation under the financial management act? Don’t these findings mean that potentially hundreds of millions of taxpayers’ dollars a year are being inappropriately paid or remaining unaccounted for through these grants? Why has the government been so slapdash in its treatment of $1 billion worth of community grants and left taxpayers exposed to significant risk?