Stronger Country Community Funds: almost $20m in funding ‘missing’ in $400m scheme
A huge amount of cash has “gone missing” from a NSW Government fund intended to pay for community projects in regional towns across the state. SEE WHERE THE MONEY WENT HERE.
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Almost $20 million in government funding — intended to be allocated to local community projects across the state — has “gone missing” with the NSW Government revealing the funds were spent on administration costs for the grant program.
A total of $400 million worth of funds was meant to be distributed over three rounds as part of the regional community fund.
A total of $100 million was expected to be allocated in round one, $200 million in round two and a further $100 million in round three.
However, NSW Government documents reveal only $380,272,544 was allocated.
The major funding initiative, which has provided cash to more than 1500 community projects across NSW since 2017, identifies projects to support the upgrade of facilities in regional areas.
A Department of Regional NSW spokesman told NewsLocal it was “standard practice” to allocate a proportion of funding to cover administration costs including assurance and acquittal, program evaluation, technical advice, staffing to undertake project assessments and other program related costs.
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“For the Stronger Country Communities Program, over 1500 projects across every Local Government Area in regional NSW need to be assessed, assured, acquitted and evaluated,” the spokesman said.
But NSW Opposition Leader, Jodi McKay, said the NSW Government’s use of the funds for administration costs was “a sham”.
“This is outrageous, that money should have been spent on worthy projects and instead has been sucked up in administration costs,” she told NewsLocal.
“We have never heard of grants money being used in this way.
“The Government’s own records show $20 million from this taxpayer-funded slush fund has vanished into thin air.”
Shadow Local Government spokesman Greg Warren said the Stronger Country Community Fund “was a rort from the start and rotten to the core”.
“The whole process has been conducted under a cloud of secrecy and now we learn the government used $20 million to create and administer their tax-payer funded slush fund,” he said.
“This is a gross waste and missuse of taxpayer funded money.”
A NSW parliament Upper House inquiry will begin on September 21 into government grant funding across the state.
The average amount of funding allocated through the program was $243,141, while the most expensive application was $3.056 million issued to the Snowy Monaro Regional Council for a pool upgrade.