Olympics and Paralympic sporting officials’ silence after ‘record’ $283 million funding claim

The PM’s announcement of a $283 million funding boost for the country’s Olympic and Paralympic sports was touted as a ‘record’ spend of ‘new’ money but the governing bodies have called BS.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese presents as a sports-lover, but that has been questioned by leaders of several sports. Picture: Getty Images

The deafening silence from Australia’s Olympic and Paralympic sports following the government’s latest funding announcement speaks volumes about the fractured relationship between sporting officials and Canberra.

While the Prime Minister continues to pass himself off as a knockabout sports-lover, administrators that deal with Anthony Albanese and his federal sports minister Anika Wells paint a different picture about what goes on when the cameras aren’t rolling.

According to numerous officials, who spoke only on condition of anonymity, the government has heavily politicised sports to serve its own needs, using taxpayer funding as the bargaining chip to ensure officials keep quiet about issues impacting their preparations for major events.

The most damning accusation is that the pressure is only applied to impoverished sports that desperately rely on government funding.

The rich, professional football codes seemingly have no problem getting hundreds of millions of public dollars, whether for new stadiums or new franchises.

Trumpeted as a “gold medal investment”, this week’s funding announcement has further alienated some sports leaders, who are calling BS on claims the package includes “a record $283 million in new money”.

Speaking confidentially, several senior officials denounced the new funding deal as shameless political spin.

According to sources who have looked closely at the financials, the government has fudged the numbers to artificially triple the actual level of new investment.

During a presentation to sports leaders on Friday, the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) showed a slide which clearly identified the amount of new investment as $71.1 million, a quarter of the advertised amount.

Australian Minister for Sport Anika Wells. Picture: AFP

According to sources, the rest of the money - over $200 million - is made up of baseline appropriations - namely funding grants that have previously been announced and are already in the system.

The government stands by its figures, saying the money is not only a new investment but also amounts to an unprecedented sum.

“A record $283 million in new money will flow to our elite athletes, coaches and support staff over the next two years in a historic show of support on the path to Brisbane 2032,” Wells said.

“This investment represents a 50% increase on the previous government’s 2021- 2022 high performance funding for the Tokyo Games. It also represents a doubling of the investment the previous government made for Paralympic athletes.

“This new funding is in addition to our $102.8 million annual grant funding and brings the Government’s total high-performance investment to $489m over two years.”

Tired of governments using sport as a political football, the frustrations for administrators has intensified because they won’t learn how much of the so-called ‘new’ money they will each receive until after this year’s Olympics and Paralympics in Paris.

It’s already the worst-kept secret in sport that Albanese and Wells are always close to the action when Aussies teams are winning and the crowds are cheering, donning their green and gold scarves and replica shirts and posing for pictures with athletes.

But sports officials say politicians are notoriously hard to get hold of when the television cameras aren’t around, not returning calls or answering questions and cancelling planned meetings without notice.

Tensions flared up during a round table meeting in May when gobsmacked sports leaders were told there would be no extra money for them in the upcoming budget.

Furious, some wanted to go public with their grievances straight away, but were talked off the ledge because the government was planning a stage-managed separate announcement just days before Saturday night’s Prime Minister’s Olympic dinner in Melbourne.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, pictured with Rod Laver at the Australian Open, has come under fire for the Federal Government’s Olympic and Paralympic funding claims. Picture: Michael Klein

With more than 800 guests, including a who’s who of the corporate world, the dinner has long been a critical fundraiser for athletes, but insiders fear it’s been hijacked into another glorified photo-shoot opportunity.

The politicians were nowhere to be seen when Australian Olympic Committee CEO Matt Carroll travelled to Canberra last year to tell the National Press Club that Australian sport was facing a $2 billion black hole because of the government’s decline in investment.

Working with the ASC on the 2032+ strategy, National Sporting Organisations (NSOs) had already told the government they would need an annual funding uplift of between $250-$300 million to prepare for the green and gold runaway to Brisbane 2032.

The figure was included in an email that Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) general manager Matti Clements sent to key stakeholders on March 22 but ASC boss Kieren Perkins said he had no knowledge about the agreed figure when he fronted the Community Affairs Legislation Committee during Senate estimates on June 6.

Former Australian swimmer Cate Campbell was the funding announcement alongside Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and Minister for Sport Anika Wells. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Asked by shadow sports minister Anne Ruston whether he had been instructed by the government to tell sports to ‘hold the line’ after hearing they were unhappy, Perkins replied:.

“In the interactions that I have had with NSO CEOs, I would certainly not suggest that a large number are concerned,” he said.

“Many that I engage with fully understand where we are up to and the work that is being done and appreciate the support that they receive from the federal government for their programs as the lead-in to Paris occurs. I am also aware that there are some that are certainly agitated.”

With many sports leaders currently overseas overseeing last-minute preparations for Paris, the timing of this week’s funding announcement has not gone down well.

Although Perkins fronted an information brief with sports leaders in Canberra on Friday, one of the officials in the room said attendees were disappointed at the lack of detail around the announcement.