Melissa Price denies giving grants to marginal seat

Environment Minister Melissa Price has denied that nearly $40,000 of grants were awarded in a key marginal electorate.

Environment Minister Melissa Price under fire during question time yesterday. Picture: AAP

Environment Minister Melissa Price has been forced to deny nearly $40,000 of environment grants were awarded in a key marginal electorate before applications for the program were opened.

Ms Price told parliament yesterday that three projects in Liberal MP Chris Crewther’s Victorian electorate of Dunkley did not receive Communities Environment Program funds, despite Mr Crewther writing in three Facebook posts that local groups had won grants.

When asked in parliament about Mr Crewther’s claims, Ms Price said there were no grants awarded because the program did not open until mid-year, and the Dunkley MP was simply being a “good member”.

“The government has not awarded any funding under this program because the program is not open,” she told parliament.

“The community environment program is not open. Information has been out for some time on March 4 …

“The member for Dunkley, what a good local member, he ­invited me to speak to a number of really good local community environment projects, and we should be supporting that.”

It is the latest in a series of controversies since Ms Price joined Scott Morrison’s cabinet in ­August.

Mr Crewther, whose seat is now nominally Labor after a redistribution, said yesterday he simply “identified” projects he wanted to nominate for the grants.

But his Facebook posts clearly state the grants had been awarded and there are videos attached starring Mr Crewther, Ms Price and the “recipients” of the environment grants.

“I was very happy to announce, with Environment Minister Melissa Price MP, that it would be ­receiving $20,000 from the Federal Liberal Government’s Communities Environment Program,” Mr Crewther wrote in one post.