Analysis
Updated
Australia has a long, not so proud and not particularly creative history of political pork-barrelling.
Governments
of both political persuasions have been repeatedly scalded by audit
reports, and yet they return to the same old trick; using grants
programs to funnel big dollops of taxpayers' cash towards protecting
marginal seats.The Rudd/Gillard/Rudd Government had its Regional Development Australia Fund. The Howard Government had its Regional Partnerships Program.
And before this came the Keating Government's Community, Cultural, Recreational and Sporting Facilities Program.
All with different names but the same essential aim.
This time it's particularly brazen
In each of these schemes, money for footy club change rooms, tennis court lighting, local youth centres or road upgrades was doled out to grateful communities.In each of these schemes, ministers (to varying degrees) overrode either an independent panel or departmental advice to decide where the money would be spent.
And funnily enough, in each of these schemes a disproportionately high percentage of the money went to marginal seats the government of the day was trying to sandbag.
On one level, there's nothing particularly original about the way the Morrison Government's Community Sport Infrastructure Program was rolled out.
According to the auditor-general, the $100 million program was allocated by then-sports minister Bridget McKenzie (now Agriculture Minister) in the lead-up to last year's election in a way that "was not informed by an appropriate assessment process and sound advice". Instead, marginal seats were targeted.
But on another level, there's something particularly brazen about this latest example of pork-barrelling, that sets it apart from its predecessors.
There's no hiding what was going on
First is the scale of ministerial intervention. The Minister ignored the recommendations of the independent experts at a far higher rate.In round 3 of this program, the auditor-general found "73 per cent of the approved projects had not been recommended by Sport Australia".
Second is the frank admission by the Minister's office of what went on. According to the auditor-general, "the award of funding reflected the approach documented by the Minister's Office of focusing on 'marginal' electorates held by the Coalition as well as those electorates held by other parties or independent members that were to be 'targeted' by the Coalition".
There's no hiding what was going on here. It was all documented.
Finally, is the question of legality. To be clear, the Auditor-General is not saying any law was necessarily broken by the Minister approving these grants, but the report finds "it is not evident… what the legal authority was".
This is perhaps the most damning part of the entire report.
Just make sure you're in a marginal seat
The Minister was handing out taxpayers' money and it's not clear what legal authority she had to do so.In defending her actions, Senator McKenzie insists "all of the projects funded were eligible" and "no rules were broken". This is true, but it doesn't answer what legal grounds she relied upon to blatantly funnel taxpayers' money into "target" marginal seats.
Bridget McKenzie is digging in. She's showing no signs of following the example of Labor's Ros Kelly who eventually lost her job over the original "sports rorts" affair 26 years ago.
Labor reckons this is the very thing that should go before a National Integrity Commission, if only one existed. Instead, it will use the mechanisms available to it when parliament resumes next month.
The Minister will be forced to explain herself in Question Time and the bureaucrats, who it seems didn't speak up at the time, will have to give answers before Senate Estimates.
The bigger question is whether any of this will put an end to pork-barrelling altogether. If history is any guide, don't hold your breath.
And just make sure you're in a marginal seat if your footy club needs a new loo.
David Speers is the host of Insiders, which returns to ABC TV on Sunday, February 2 at 9am.
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