Olympians denied vital support

Being a nation of sports lovers, Australians are eagerly looking forward to cheering our athletes, swimmers and equestrians at the Tokyo Olympics from late July. The fact the Games will be on a similar time zone will be a bonus. From the most elite level to children’s competitions, sport requires resources, and taxpayers are willing to pay. There is good reason to be incensed, however, about the warped spending priorities of the Australian Sports Commission. On Friday, in their first report of our “Games Over’’ series, Jacquelin Magnay and Jessica Halloran exposed the swanky lifestyles of sports officials, at a time when Olympic sports funding cuts could deny elite athletes the coaching they need.

While athletes with the talent to win medals in Tokyo are holding sausage sizzles to raise funds to take part, officials earning as much as $425,000 a year (Australian Institute of Sport director Peter Conde), jet in and out of Canberra, where the institute is located, from their homes and expensive offices in Melbourne and Brisbane. Other officials earn at least $200,000. And one deputy, Ian Burns, is based in San Francisco. Millions of dollars have been spent on the Melbourne and Brisbane offices, recruitment companies, consultants and on professional administrative training from the Melbourne Business School. As Australian Olympic Committee boss John Coates said on Saturday, some of the spending was “incom­prehensible”.

Shameful as it was, former Nationals deputy leader Bridget McKenzie’s pork-barrelling of local sports funding under the $100m Community Sport Infrastructure Grant program was chickenfeed compared with the scale of the Australian Sports Commission gravy train. The grants process was skewed for political purposes, which is unacceptable. But it did channel funds to community sporting groups. Given Sport Aust­ralia’s knowledge of grass-roots sporting organisations and local needs, its recommendations should have been followed. At the same time, the Australian Sports Commission scandal demonstrates why official bodies, funded by taxpayers, deserve close scrutiny from governments.

In considering what to do about the AIS in light of former sports minister Rod Kemp’s review, the Morrison government needs to act to reform the institute’s priorities and performance. Athletes’ needs must be put ahead of management perks. To that end, Sports Minister Richard Colbeck’s consultations with a wide range of sporting bodies will be important. It is understandable that the AIS would channel a hefty share of funding to major sports such as swimming, cycling, rowing and hockey, in which Australia has strong medal prospects. At the same time, it is unacceptable that sports such as baseball, in which Australia is ranked sixth in the world, will miss out on funds for Olympic qualifying preparation. Sports fans also know that smaller sports, too, often produce surprise medallists. The government also needs to look to the future. Some of those with most to lose under the current system are promising teenage athletes aspiring to selection for the 2024 Olympics in Paris. Olympic history has been blighted with periodic outbreaks of corruption and cheating. But a fair go and good sportsmanship are intrinsic to the Australian character. This is why gold-medal extravagance by well-paid officials, at the expense of athletes, offends our national psyche.