Labor gets its way on sports rorts inquiry

A Labor motion calling for an ­inquiry into the $100m sports rorts saga has passed the Senate, establishing a new probe into the program.

Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese in question time on Wednesday. Picture: AAP

A Labor motion calling for an ­inquiry into the $100m sports rorts saga — a scheme that this week claimed the scalp of former deputy Nationals leader Bridget McKenzie — has passed the Senate, establishing a new probe into the program.

Announcing Labor’s intention to launch an inquiry into the scandal on Wednesday, opposition sport spokesman Don Farrell said his party wanted to investigate whether the Prime Minister’s ­office had any involvement in the distribution of grants.

“We wish to investigate what the minister did, the relationship between her office and that of the Prime Minister, and to find out why there was no accountability and no transparency in the awarding of these grants,” Senator ­Farrell said.

“Thousands of clubs made ­applications to what they thought was a dinky-di process, an on-the-level process.

“What they found was it was nothing of the sort, and they had no chance right from the start of getting any of this grant money.”

It comes after Auditor-General Grant Hehir last month released a damning report that found the Community Sport Infrastructure grant program skewed funding ­decisions in favour of sporting clubs in marginal seats.

The inquiry found Senator McKenzie ignored recommendations by Sport Australia about which funding applications to ­approve and suggested she may have acted without legal authority. A separate probe conducted by Prime Minister and Cabinet secretary Philip Gaetjens found the scheme was above board. However, this report has not been made public.

Senator McKenzie quit cabinet on Sunday after Mr Gaetjens found she broke ministerial rules in awarding $36,000 to a clay shooting club of which she didn’t disclose her membership.

In a fiery exchange in the Senate on Wednesday, opposition public service spokeswoman Katy Gallagher questioned Mr Gaetjens’s independence. She accused him of producing a report that conveniently gave Scott Morrison political cover while providing a basis to sack Senator McKenzie from the frontbench.

“Is Mr Gaetjens responsible for ensuring the Australian government gets the advice it needs to make decisions in the interests of the Australian people — or is he Mr Morrison’s head butler, serving up cooked-up political fixes when the bell rings?” she said, calling on him to release his report.