Sports rorts: ‘Significant shortcomings’ in Bridget McKenzie grants decisions

The man tasked by the PM with reviewing the grants scheme raises ‘significant shortcomings’ with Senator McKenzie’s decision making.

Former Sport Minister Bridget McKenzie. Picture: Gary Ramage

Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet Philip Gaetjens has declared there were “significant shortcomings” with former Sport Minister Bridget McKenzie’s decision making process when it came to the allocation of grants for sporting clubs.

In a submission to the Senate inquiry into the sports rorts saga on Friday, Mr Gaetjens said he found “a disconnect” between the assessment process run by Sport Australia and the assessment and decision-making process in Senator McKenzie’s office.

“This lack of transparency, coupled with the significant divergences between projects recommended by Sport Australia and those approved by the Minister have given rise to concerns about the funding decision making,” Mr Gaetjens wrote.

In an explosive report released last month, ­Auditor-General Grant Hehir found the former sports minister ignored recommendations by government agency Sport Australia on which applications to approve before the election without apparent legal authority, favouring marginal and targeted seats.

While Sport Australia’s initial check weeded out non-­compliant applications, ensuring no ineligible groups were awarded funds, the report revealed Senator McKenzie’s office conducted a parallel assessment process to approve projects.

Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet Philip Gaetjens. Picture: Kym Smith

Mr Gaetjens was tasked with investigating the scheme on behalf of Scott Morrison, but his report into the scandal, which found Senator McKenzie breached ministerial standards by failing to declare her membership of a Victorian gun club, is yet to be made public.

In his submission, Mr Gaetjens says he found that Senator McKenzie breached ministerial standards by failing to declare her memberships of two organisations “and that she had an actual conflict of interest” when awarding funding to one of those organisations, the Wangaratta Clay Target Club. A connection, he writes, was “neither declared to the Prime Minister nor managed.”

It comes after the Australian National Audit Office on Thursday confirmed at least half the clubs that got funding “were ineligible” by the time they received it because­ of ­delays in the ministerial oversight of the scheme.

“We get to around 43 per cent of those which were awarded funding, by the time the funding agreement was signed, were in­eligible,” Brian Boyd said.

More to come