Penny Wong, Mathias Cormann clash over ‘outrageous’ sports rorts allegation
Claims by Penny Wong of a ‘corrupt cover-up’ around the sports grants saga have been labelled ‘a ridiculous assertion’ by Mathias Cormann.
Penny Wong has accused former sports minister Bridget McKenzie of backdating a document approving sports grants funding and labelled the Morrison government “corrupt” for its handling of the $100 million scheme.
The opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman took aim at the handling of the sports grants scheme in a fiery Senate Estimates session on Monday morning with officials from the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.
Senator Wong questioned how it could be possible Senator McKenzie had signed a brief ticking off approved projects on April 4 last year, when the Nationals senator wrote a letter to Scott Morrison a week later outlining the projects she “intended to approve”.
She said the alleged backdating of a document was “probably a criminal offence”.
“I put to you that Senator McKenzie backdated the brief,” Senator Wong said to the government’s representative in the session, Finance Minister Mathias Cormann.
Senator Cormann labelled it an “outrageous allegation”.
“Just because you make an outrageous allegation against a senator doesn’t make it true,” Senator Cormann said.
When Senator Cormann told Senator Wong she should be more respectful of her colleagues, the Labor Senate Leader said: “Particularly someone who has taken the fall for you”.
Senator Wong accused the government of covering up the sports grants saga because the department did not have documents Senator McKenzie sent to Mr Morrison the day before last year’s election.
She looked at Senator Cormann and yelled: “The extent to which you are covering up is corrupt. It is corrupt. The extent to which you are covering up this sports rort is corrupt.
“You know what we are asking about but you are hiding this information because it shows that the Prime Minister is up to his neck in this corrupt sports rorts program.”
Senator Cormann asked her to withdraw.
“That is outrageous. You are trying to get on the television. Quite frankly that is a ridiculous assertion,” Senator Cormann said.
Senator Wong reluctantly withdrew the personal allegations of corruption and said her criticism was aimed at the Liberal Party.
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