Dutton revives controversial safety grants as he campaigns on crime

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton is promising federal cash for local projects in a bid to woo voters in marginal seats, reviving a controversial fund to allocate the money despite a sharp rebuke about the scheme in an official audit three years ago.

The money is being pledged to local safety programs in key electorates such as Kooyong in Melbourne and Dutton’s own seat of Dickson in Queensland, amid a wider political dispute about “pork-barrelling” to win support with Commonwealth funds.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has announced “Safer Communities” grants in key seats, including his own. Credit: Rhett Wyman

The Coalition has made the announcements at the same time it has attacked Labor over the location of urgent care clinics being promised to offer GP services, while calling for more to be added to the government’s list of sites.

Emails obtained by this masthead reveal that Coalition MPs are urging supporters to come forward with projects they want funded from the Commonwealth cash, pointing out the projects would be funded only if the Coalition formed government.

Dutton has countered questions about the integrity of the scheme by saying he wants to spend money on local communities to keep people safer, while claiming this is a better use of money than the increase in public servant numbers under Labor.

The promises include $400,000 to fix lighting at the Malvern Cricket Club in Kooyong, where the Liberals are trying to reclaim the seat from independent MP Monique Ryan.

A cricket club has received a $400,000 pledge.Credit: Shutterstock

The Coalition has also promised $1.3 million for a youth skills initiative in Dickson, the northern Brisbane seat which Dutton holds by a margin of just 1.7 per cent after several unsuccessful Labor attempts to defeat him.

The program also includes $368,000 for lighting in the Darwin suburb of Palmerston, part of the safe Labor electorate of Solomon, as well as $15,000 for security at Tynwald Park in the Tasmanian electorate of Lyons, held by Labor on a margin of less than 1 per cent.

The previous version of the Safer Communities Fund was criticised in February 2022 by then auditor-general Grant Hehir after years of controversy about the way grants were approved to help the Coalition in some of the most marginal seats.

The auditor-general found that 59 per cent of the projects were solely based in Coalition electorates in the first round, while only 27 per cent were solely in Labor electorates, with other locations crossing electorate boundaries. No applications were received from seats held by minor parties or independents.

Hehir’s report found that $184 million was spent on 699 projects and that 54 per cent of the grants did not have a clear basis for the decision.

Dutton has promised the money from a “revitalised Safer Communities Fund” without saying whether applications for funding would be open to all community groups or whether the successful projects would be hand-picked by the Coalition.

An email sent to one community organisation by a Liberal MP reveals the broad extent of the proposed new fund, which features three separate streams of financial support.

“Please note as these are election commitments, they will only be funded if the Liberal Party is in government after the next federal election,” the email said.

The first stream, offering grants of between $10,000 and $500,000, is open to schools, places of religious worship, community organisations and local councils for projects aimed at “reducing crime, violence, anti-social behaviour and/or other security risks driven by racial and/or religious intolerance”.

Funding would also be available for infrastructure such as bollards, CCTV cameras, security lighting, “external blast walls and windows” and public address systems.

A second stream of the program promises grants of between $200,000 and $1.5 million for organisations that provide early intervention services to high-risk youth.

Same-size grants apply under stream three of the program, aimed at social cohesion.

Applicants are told projects that “build more cohesive communities” could include such things as language workshops, “employment and entrepreneurship support”, sporting programs and water safety education.

The Coalition declined to answer questions from this masthead about whether applications would be considered impartially by a government department if the Coalition won the election.

It also declined to answer questions about whether the money was being targeted at marginal seats and whether Safer Communities would be an open program for any community group seeking to apply for help.

Coalition home affairs spokesman James Paterson said community safety had “collapsed” under the federal government, although he did not cite any data.

Coalition home affairs spokesman James Paterson.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

“We are proud to support local councils and community groups with these election commitments to deliver much needed projects to restore a sense of safety and security to our cities, suburbs and towns,” he said.

Crime is emerging as a key issue for voters in the Resolve Political Monitor, conducted for this masthead each month by Resolve Strategic.

“It’s become more of an issue recently,” said Resolve director Jim Reed. “That is partly because of crime in certain areas, but also the knock-on effect of division, protests and falling cohesion.”

The Resolve Political Monitor found 40 per cent of voters thought Dutton and the Coalition were the best to handle crime and anti-social behaviour, while 21 per cent named Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Labor.

Another 13 per cent preferred others and 26 per cent were undecided.

Dutton has complained about the location of urgent care clinics being promised under a $644 million government policy to ease pressure on hospital emergency departments by adding 50 more clinics to an earlier program of 87 sites.

“There’s no question that Labor’s pork-barrelling. Have a look at the map as to where these clinics have gone,” he said on Monday.

Health Minister Mark Butler said the locations reflected the fact that Labor holds the federal electorates in the Northern Territory and the ACT where 21 of the 87 clinics are located.

“Of the 26 clinics in Queensland, 21 of them are held by non-Labor members of the parliament. These have been selected according to health impact,” he said.

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