Labor accused of funnelling grant programs into marginal seats

The Morrison government says Anthony Albanese’s flagship election pledge are “slush funds” amid an election brawl over pork- barrelling.

Almost $3 out of every $5 Labor has promised from a ­series of grant programs has been funnelled into marginal seats, with the data renewing an election brawl over pork- barrelling.

An analysis of the opposition’s pledges across several new schemes – including funding school upgrades, community batteries, urgent-care clinics, river works and veterans hubs – reveals Labor candidates have promised $250m across these programs.

Of that, $136m has been announced in Labor seats and $108m for Coalition seats, with 58 per cent of the money promised in electorates held by less than 6 per cent – even though only three out of every 10 seats nationwide are considered marginal.

Just 17 per cent of the cash has been committed in safe Coalition electorates.

There have been at least 106 grants promised from the schools scheme, including 36 in Western Australia, where Labor is hoping to pick up several seats but which is home to only 10 per cent of the nation’s population.

Labor Leader Anthony Albanese has been accused of pork- barrelling.

Anthony Albanese has vow­ed to end the “rorts and waste” of the Coalition and declared grants “should be based upon objective criteria and should be based upon need”.

But Finance Minister Simon Birmingham said the Labor leader’s spending was “only exceeded by his hypocrisy”.

“After spending three years condemning grant programs, Mr Albanese’s flagship election commitments are nothing more than slush funds with no detail, no plan, no guidelines and no transparency,” Senator Birmingham said on Tuesday.

The opposition hit back, with a spokesman maintaining the party’s commitments were “made based on advice from local or state governments or based on clear community need”.

“This is in clear contrast to the Liberals, who have made an art form of spending taxpayers’ money like it is Liberal Party money and allocating it based on colour-coded spreadsheets,” the spokesman said.

Finance Minister Simon Birmingham said Labor’s election commitments are “nothing more than slush funds”. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

The Morrison government has been subjected to scathing criticism from the Auditor-General over the past three years for its use of grant programs, particularly for sporting clubs and commuter car parks.

This has fuelled a fierce Labor attack over integrity, with Mr Albanese suggesting a future anti-corruption watchdog could investigate.

But the opposition has refused requests during the campaign to release details of its localised spending commitments across the new programs. The Herald Sun re­vealed last month that the opposition had promised a series of its urgent-care clinics in key battleground electorates.

The new analysis shows about $16.7m has so far been promised from a $240m schools program to deliver “great facilities in a Covid-safe environment”.

It has also been used to offer cash to upgrade school toilets, IT equipment, basketball courts, swimming pools and canteens. Of that grant money, almost 80 per cent been promised for schools in marginal seats.