Senator Murray Watt questions whether Morrison government allowed Hanson to announce the grant to boost One Nation and LNP in Queensland election
Last modified on Mon 21 Sep 2020 04.30 AEST
Labor has written to the auditor general asking him to investigate how Pauline Hanson came to use a novelty cheque with her face on it to announce a $23m taxpayer-funded federal grant to build a stadium in Rockhampton.
In a letter sent on Friday, Labor senator Murray Watt took aim at what he said was an attempt to “mislead Australians” about the source of the funds, and questioned whether the Morrison government had allowed Hanson to announce the grant to boost One Nation and the Liberal National party ahead of the Queensland state election.
Guardian Australia revealed on Friday that Hanson had used the prop to announce $23m for a 16,000-seat stadium that is committed but yet to be delivered through the federal government’s community development program.
In a Facebook post on Monday, the One Nation leader said that she was pleased “to hand over a $23m cheque to build Rocky Stadium” and attributed the funding to a dinner she had with “the prime minister and finance minister last September”.
Watt wrote to the auditor general citing the story and complaining that “nowhere does Senator Hanson indicate the real source of the funds”.
Watt noted that the cheque purported to be issued by Hanson and the “Australian federal parliament” and bears Hanson’s image and branding.
Funding for the Rocky Sports Club “is not a gift from Senator Hanson”, he said.
“It is completely inappropriate for Senator Hanson to treat taxpayers’ money as if it were her own, and to mislead Australians about the true source of these funds,” Watt said. “Taxpayers’ money should not be treated as campaign contributions to, or as gifts from, individual politicians or political parties.”
Watt noted Hanson’s conduct was “reminiscent of the circumstances surrounding Ms Georgina Downer’s presentation of a cheque to the Yankalilla Bowling Club in March 2019”.
Downer’s novelty cheque sparked an audit office inquiry into the community sport infrastructure grant program, eventually causing the then sports minister, Bridget McKenzie, to resign over a conflict of interest.
In comments to Guardian Australia, Rocky Sports Club co-founder Gavin Shuker credited both Hanson and Nationals MP Michelle Landry with having secured the funding.
He said the pair jointly announced the funding on Monday, with media advisers organising for Hanson to speak first and Landry second. Both Hanson and Landry used social media posts and interviews discussing the grant to boost their state candidates.
Watt questioned why Hanson was “allowed to announce a grant of $23m to a local sports club prior to any announcement being made by a relevant department or minister”.
“It raises concerns that the Morrison government is using taxpayers’ funds to support joint campaigning by Ms Hanson and the LNP for the forthcoming Queensland election.”
Spokespeople for Landry and the infrastructure minister, Michael McCormack, who oversees the grant program, referred questions about the novelty cheque to Hanson.
A spokeswoman for finance minister, Mathias Cormann, said the government had committed to fund “a new iconic landmark for central Queensland” after “representations from a range of local stakeholders”.
“The government receives representations from local MPs and senators in support of potential local infrastructure projects on a regular basis,” she said.
“We always engage constructively with all local members of parliament making representations to the government on behalf of their electorates.”
Shuker denied the grant had anything to do with the election, arguing that both Hanson and Landry wanted “something for the community” and saying “it’s not about election promises”.
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