Exclusive: Program to fund female changerooms and swimming pool upgrades never opened to public applications
The Coalition
has quietly spent another $150m sports grant fund promised in last
year’s budget without opening up the process to public applications.
The $150m female facilities and water safety stream program, announced by the Coalition less than two months before the election, was funded in the 2019 budget for the purpose of female changerooms and swimming pool upgrades.
While there was an expectation among sports clubs that the program would be open for applications in the wake of the sports rorts scandal, the Department of Health has revealed that the $150m fund was all spent during the election campaign.
“The projects funded through the $150 million Female Facilities and
Water Safety Stream Program were announced by the Australia Government
in 2019,” a spokesperson for the department said.The $150m female facilities and water safety stream program, announced by the Coalition less than two months before the election, was funded in the 2019 budget for the purpose of female changerooms and swimming pool upgrades.
While there was an expectation among sports clubs that the program would be open for applications in the wake of the sports rorts scandal, the Department of Health has revealed that the $150m fund was all spent during the election campaign.
“The FFWSS Program was not open to applications for grants. The projects were selected as election commitments.
“Projects eligible for funding included those that supported the development of female change room facilities at sporting grounds and community swimming facilities.”
The Department of Health formally advised successful recipients on 23 October 2019 and additional information was requested “as part of standard due diligence that would support contract execution”.
Most of the funded projects will be under way within the next 12 months, the department said.
According to details of grant recipients provided by the Department of Health, 41 projects have successfully secured funding through the program totalling $131m.
As with the controversial community sport infrastructure program, projects funded through the scheme were predominantly in Coalition-held seats or those that it was targeting in the election, including the key seats of Braddon in Tasmania, Boothby in South Australia, Gilmore in NSW, Brisbane in Queensland, Corangamite in Victoria, and Pearce and Swan in WA.
The largest single grant was $25m for the new Ellenbrook pool in the attorney general Christian Porter’s marginal seat of Pearce, which was announced three weeks before the election.
In Corangamite, which the Liberal MP Sarah Henderson was attempting to hold on for the Coalition despite it becoming notionally Labor in a redistribution, $20m was pledged from the fund for the Torquay pool and $10m to the Bellarine aquatic centre.
Steve Irons, who is a close ally of the prime minister, Scott Morrison, and was battling to keep his WA seat of Swan in Coalition hands, used the fund to promise $20m to build a new South Perth aquatic centre.
A $500,000 grant for the Broulee surf club in Gilmore was announced by candidate Warren Mundine, who was unable to hold the marginal seat of Gilmore for the Coalition following the departure of Anne Sudmalis.
In a media release just four days before the election, Mundine pledged the $500,000 “to increase the clubhouse footprint and improve amenities for women”.
Details of the new fund come after the Senate moved on Wednesday to set up an inquiry into the controversial $100m community sport infrastructure program, which a scathing auditor general’s report found had been used by the former Nationals minister Bridget McKenzie to target projects in marginal seats, while ignoring the recommendations of Sport Australia.
Morrison has attempted to draw a line under the saga after McKenzie resigned from cabinet and as the deputy Nationals leader on Sunday, but Labor has continued to target the Coalition over the project.
The new deputy Nationals leader, David Littleproud, has conceded the partisan allocation of projects by party representation in marginal seats is not “the best way to do it”, despite Morrison repeatedly defending the program.
The government has suggested it may yet fund clubs that missed out on funding, noting that of the total of $400m in project founding sought, the government had awarded $100m.
“As I said last week, we think this infrastructure is important to local communities,” he said. “I’ll be working with the treasurer as we prepare for this year’s budget to see how we can provide further support for this important infrastructure that brings communities together,” Morrison said on Wednesday.
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