Pork barrelling comes at a cost

Technology has changed but pork barrelling of taxpayers’ money has not. There is no “great big whiteboard” as there was in 1994 when former Keating government minister Ros Kelly resigned over the “sports rorts affair” about grants to marginal seats. But Nationals deputy leader Bridget McKenzie is embroiled in an identical scandal over the same program. It has erupted as the Morrison government is going through its toughest patch since its surprise victory in May last year.

The Australian National Audit Office report into the $100m Community Sport Infrastructure Grant Program was damning. In the lead-up to the election, it said, Senator McKenzie, as sports minister, ignored the recommendations of government agency Sport Australia on awarding funding to grassroots sporting clubs. Instead, it found, a parallel process within her office (minus the whiteboard used by Ms Kelly for the same purpose, when the scheme was worth $30m) focused on marginal electorates held by the Coalition and electorates held by other parties or independents that were Coalition target seats. As a result, there was “distribution bias” in the awarding of 684 grants that was “not consistent with the ­assessed merit of applications”.

Senator McKenzie is digging in. But the scandal is not going to go away any time soon. When parliament resumes, the opposition is preparing to refer the program to the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit or to create a separate inquiry. Senator McKenzie insists that no rules were broken. But Simon Longstaff, executive director of The Ethics Centre in Sydney, said that argument was “ethically bereft”. He also warned the issue could undermine Scott Morrison’s ability to enforce proper standards of integrity in other institutions such as banks and unions.

Senator McKenzie’s leader, Michael ­McCormack, says the grants made a big difference to many communities. But many others missed out. “Distribution bias” of public money for political gain is unacceptable and ministers must be accountable. The ends do not justify the means, which is why independent auditing is vital. The government must respond properly to the ANAO report.