Sport rorts minister Bridget McKenzie stung by file leak

Michael McCormack is refusing to guarantee Bridget McKenzie’s position as Nationals deputy.

The leaking of the documents comes days before a probe into Senator McKenzie’s handling of the scheme is handed down. Picture: AAP

Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack is refusing to guarantee the position of embattled Nationals deputy Bridget McKenzie, declaring he will have to “wait and see” the outcome of an investi­gation into her management of a controversial federal sports grants scheme.

The comments from Mr McCormack came shortly before Senator McKenzie was dealt a further blow by the leaking of damaging documents outlining Sport Australia’s concern at her management of the grant program and how her office administered the funds.

The ABC said it had obtained a leaked spreadsheet prepared by the minister’s office in 2018 with a colour-coded breakdown of what party held the seats where potential projects were based, raising fresh questions over how funds were allocated.

The Nationals leader told The Australian he remained supportive of his deputy but said he did now know whether she would retain her position after the findings of the inquiry — being conducted by Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet Secretary Philip Gaetjens — are handed down.

“I’m not really inclined to second guess the process because I think the process has to be left to run its natural course,” Mr McCormack said.

“I don’t know where it might go. I guess the secretary of PM&C will get all the evidence before him, weigh all that up, make a determination based on that. So I don’t really know when or what he will come up with so we will just have to wait and see.”

Nationals MP Llew O’Brien also warned that the saga had become a political distraction for the government.

“I think she (Senator McKenzie) has the support of the partyroom but I want to start talking about the reason we are in Canberra and stop talking about ­ourselves,” Mr O’Brien said.

Asked whether Senator McKenzie needed to resign to give the government free air, Mr O’Brien replied: “That is not for me to make that decision.

“It has been my view that Bridget has always wanted us to be doing our job and I think Bridget will do whatever is best for us to do our job.”

The crisis over Senator McKenzie was triggered by an Australian National Audit Office review that found the community sports grants scheme, managed by her office, was biased towards marginal seats and electorates targeted by the ­Coalition before the May poll.

Labor seized on the ABC report on Tuesday that Sport Australia executive director Robin O’Neill had written to Senator McKenzie before the election warning the agency’s independence was being compromised by her handling of the program.

While a roller derby upgrade in the safe seat of Nationals MP Darren Chester reportedly did not receive a grant despite receiving a 98 out of 100 rating from Sport Australia, a football club in the marginal Liberal seat of La Trobe received a $500,000 grant with a score of just 50 out of 100.

Sports Minister Richard Colbeck demanded an assurance from Sport Australia and the Health Department that they were not responsible for the leaks. “I have today asked the secretary of the Department of Health and the CEO of Sport Australia to provide me with an assurance that documents provided to the media today relating to the assessment of Community Sports Infrastructure Grants did not come out of their agencies,” Mr Colbeck said in a statement.

Labor sports spokesman Don Farrell strengthened his push for Senator McKenzie to resign, saying that “every piece of information about this scandal paints an even more shocking picture”.

“Senior officials warned the minister that Sport Australia was not comfortable with her wholesale political interference,” Senator Farrell said.

“Australians know this was wrong. Sport Australia and the minister’s own staff knew it was wrong. The Auditor-General knew it was wrong.”

One Nationals MP told The Australian that if the crisis was not resolved by the time parliament resumed next week, it could pose a threat to the Nat­ionals’ entire leadership team and have serious repercussions for Mr McCormack.

“If there’s a spill, if somebody has to go in and call a spill, it then starts to risk the leadership team in its entirety,” the MP said.

The frontrunner for the deputy position, if it becomes available, is Drought and Emergency Management Minister David Littleproud.

Resources Minister Matthew Canavan is seen as the obvious candidate for Senate leader and a chance for the deputy position, along with Veterans Minister Darren Chester.

Nationals MP Mark Coulton supported Senator McKenzie ­retaining the deputy position.

“The Nationals generally stick by their colleagues when they get into difficulty. I think you will find the majority will do that with Bridget,” he said.