If McKenzie was a Liberal, she would likely be on her way out.
The Victorian senator sits in Morrison’s leadership group, is the deputy Nationals leader and one of the few senior ranking women in government.
With Morrison recovering from his bushfire slip-up and with parliament resuming in 12 days, the so-called sports rorts summer saga was the last thing the government needed.
Senior Coalition insiders concede McKenzie is damaged as her role in other grants programs comes under the microscope.
“We hope it will blow over. Labor has been just as bad in this space. But it’s not a good look,” an insider said.
The gun-toting Nationals MP, who preferred living in a leafy inner-Melbourne suburb than a regional town, has colleagues nipping at her heels. She is not popular in the Nationals partyroom and has been under pressure over her handling of milk prices and inability to cut through and combat attacks from One Nation.
With Attorney-General Christian Porter and Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet secretary Phil Gaetjens now looking into McKenzie’s handling of the scandal and whether she breached ministerial standards, the Prime Minister may be forced to move.
If she goes, Morrison faces a potentially ugly Nationals deputy leadership tussle and moves by Barnaby Joyce to return.
McKenzie’s cash-splash tour underpinned an overt Coalition grassroots strategy to hold and win marginal seats at any cost.
The Coalition flooded battleground electorates with grants targeting the votes of volunteers, families and seniors through local sports clubs and organisations.
It was a tactic Labor had previously employed and a pork-barrelling tactic perfected by state and local governments.
Putting aside McKenzie’s obsession with photo-ops and a fist full of taxpayer-funded cheques, she failed to take control of a program under her remit.
As the minister responsible, she needed to be in charge.
The $100m Community Sport Infrastructure Grant Program is one of several pork-barrel slush funds used by incumbent governments and MPs.
Analysis of McKenzie’s announcements reveals she tapped other funds to support candidates and government MPs, including the Better Ageing Grant Program.
The Stronger Communities Program is another popular taxpayer-funded pile of cash used by MPs from all major parties to bankroll thousands of suburban and local community projects.
While McKenzie may claim Labor and others have also been guilty of pork-barrelling, her response to the scandal to date has been far from adequate.
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