Scott Morrison accused of hand in sports rorts

Scott Morrison has been accused of ‘intervening’ in the controversial $100m sports grants program.

Scott Morrison during question time on Tuesday. Picture: Getty Images

Scott Morrison has been accused of “intervening” in the controversial $100m sports grants program after the Australian National Audit Office revealed that his office­ made direct requests affecting two funding applications.

The admission, detailed in Senate­ estimates committee hearings, triggered a fresh ­attack from Anthony Albanese.

ANAO executive director of the performance audit services group, Brian Boyd, said Mr Morrison’s office made a request for one project to be removed and another to be added under the third and final round of the program.

The change was made in an 8.46am email sent from former sports minister Bridget McKenzie’s office to Sport Australia on April 11 last year, after federal parliam­ent had been dissolved and entered caretaker mode ahead of the May 19 election.

The Opposition Leader ­said this was “direct evidence that the Prime Minister was ­involved in these decisions”. “This Prime Minister, who said on election night that it was a miracle, has been exposed not as the messiah but just as a naughty boy,” Mr Albanese said.

“This Prime Minister has been caught misleading this parliament, misleading the Australian people and using taxpayers’ funds as if they were the funds of the Liberal and National Party.”

Another nine projects were added and one removed four hours later by Senator McKenzie, who was forced to resign from cabinet over the sports rorts saga.

Several versions of colour-coded sports grants spreadsheets were worked on by Senator McKenzie’s office — following correspondence with Mr Morrison’s office — before being finalised and sent to Sport Australia at 12.43pm on April 11. Parliament was prorogued on that day at 8.29am, after which time the government must avoid making major policy decis­ions, significant appointments and entering into major contracts.

Government sources said the Prime Minister’s office realised one of the round three projects had already received funding under a different program and suggested a replacement project so there was not a double-up, which Senator McKenzie agreed to as the final decision-maker.

“My office provided inform­ation based on the representations made to us, including information about other funding options or programs relevant to project proposals,” Mr Morrison said.

“The authorisation of the projects­ was provided by the (former­) minister for sport. She was the one authorised to provide those authorisations.”

Labor Senate leader Penny Wong said it was not open to Mr Morrison to claim his office “innocently passed on information”.

“The Auditor-General has made it crystal clear his office intervened to decide who got money and who missed out,” she said.

The ANAO refused because of “privacy issues” to say which sports clubs had their applications added or removed.

Mr Boyd confirmed the Pennant Hills AFL club, in the Liberal electorate of Berowra, was “added into the list” after federal parliament entered caretaker mode. It was among nine new or amended applications submitted after the deadline closed for the grants program in mid-September 2018.

The eight other clubs or local government areas were Westbury Bowling Club in the Labor-held seat of Lyons; Yeppoon Swans AFL Club (Capricornia); Yarra Ranges Shire Council (Casey and La Trobe); Shire of Strathbogie (Indi); Katanning Country Club (O’Connor); Shire of Coolgardie (O’Connor); Maroondah City Council (Deakin and Menzies); and the North Wangaratta Football Netball Club (Indi).

Opposition sports spokesman Don Farrell called on Mr Morrison to explain if these were the same nine “late, incomplete, new or amended applications” Sport Australia refused to recommend for grants. “Why did the Morrison government insist on those projects­ being funded when applic­ants who played by the rules, applied on time and had their ­applications rated as high as 98 out of 100 were snubbed?” he said.