Janet Rice (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate take note of the document.

The report of the Auditor-General on the blatant misuse of the $100 million in sports grants is a damning report. It's a damning report showing how this government is trying to buy election outcomes. It's extraordinary. Yet this rotten government seems to think that it can get away with pretending that there's nothing to see. They're going to tough it out. Among the Auditor-General's conclusions in this report, they said:

The award of grant funding was not informed by an appropriate assessment process and sound advice.

It's worth quoting, at length, the Auditor-General's findings. In their report, they say:

… the Minister's Office had commenced its own assessment process to identify which applications should be awarded funding. The Minister's Office drew upon considerations other than those identified in the program guidelines, such as the location of projects, and also applied considerations that were inconsistent with the published guidelines. It was this assessment process that predominantly informed the Minister's funding decisions …

They go on to say:

The award of funding reflected the approach by the Minister's Office of focusing on 'marginal' electorates held by the Coalition as well as those electorates … that were to be 'targeted' by the Coalition at the 2019 Election. Applications from projects located in those electorates were more successful in being awarded funding than if funding was allocated on the basis of merit …

It does not get more cut and dried that that.

The extent of the corruption that we are witnessing is shown by the example of the Gippsland Ranges Roller Derby club in Victoria. They've been recognised for their inclusiveness and their support for the LGBTIQ community; in fact, they won a Baw Baw shire sporting achievement award for this, just a short time ago. They represent so much that is wonderful about community support. They bring people together. They build community. They create connections. And there are thousands of other clubs around Australia doing just that, too. But, sadly, we have learnt that these clubs aren't playing on a level playing field. The Gippsland Ranges Roller Derby asked for just $45,000 out of the $100 million that was on offer. Despite their application rating 98 out of 100, they didn't get any funding.

Clubs around the country have now discovered that the hours upon hours of work that they put into perfecting their applications were wasted. The government rigged the game against these clubs from the start. Instead of taking the advice of Sport Australia, the coalition used this program to buy elections. They cared more about funnelling that money into marginal seats for their own political gain. Kyneton District Soccer Club president Ron Cole said it best:

To find out you're not successful because of a political agenda is very disheartening for the people involved.

The coalition tilted the playing field and they won't own up to it.

Minister McKenzie has been made to take the fall, but what was the role of the Prime Minister's office? We've got leaked emails that seem to say that they were actually coordinating the process—that they worked closely with party strategists and the Liberal Party secretariat before presenting the funding allocations under the grants project.

The Prime Minister must apologise to the Australian people for betraying their trust; make it right to the clubs that missed out on funding—those applications that Sport Australia recommended but the minister didn't approve; and give a full and clear account of the role his office played in this scandal.

Prime Minister Morrison, this sports rorts scandal has the foul stench of a government cover-up. Making former Minister McKenzie your scapegoat won't get you off the hook this time. It doesn't fix the integrity issues that are rampant in your ministry; it doesn't fix the assault on democracy committed by your government; and it certainly does not help the hundreds of sports clubs around Australia who were robbed so that you and your coalition mates could repurpose taxpayer money as a slush fund to buy and cheat your way back into power. Australians deserve better. Prime Minister Morrison, it is time to come clean. I seek leave to continue my remarks later.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.