Nats leader Michael McCormack backs sport rorts deputy Bridget McKenzie

Nats leader doubles down on his support for Bridget McKenzie, despite many colleagues believing her job is untenable.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison with Bridget McKenzie at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: Gary Ramage

Nationals leader Michael McCormack is doubling down on his support for his embattled deputy Bridget McKenzie, despite many of his Nationals colleagues believing her position is untenable.

Mr McCormack – who first stated his fierce support for Senator McKenzie in The Australian – took his defence even further on Friday morning, saying that media reports about her handling of controversial sports grants were “untrue.”

“There’s been a lot said and written in the media that is, quite frankly, untrue. The fact is Bridget McKenzie has done an outstanding job as the sports minister and in her subsequent role of agriculture,” the Deputy Prime Minister said in Coffs Harbour.

“She is getting out there, making sure that regional communities are represented, making sure that the interests of regional people come first and foremost.

Of about 10 Nationals contacted by The Australian on Thursday, Mr McCormack was the only one to respond and endorse Senator McKenzie remaining in cabinet. Other colleagues warned her position was untenable and she could not survive the sports rorts scandal that has engulfed her for 10 days.

On Thursday, Nationals MPs began canvassing options for Senator McKenzie’s replacement, with Water Resources and Drought Minister David Littleproud emerging as a top deputy leader contender.

The Australian understands a Nationals partyroom meeting to replace Senator McKenzie was being considered for next week ahead of parliament returning on February 4.

Mr McCormack on Friday morning angrily pushed back and claimed that the lack of support for Senator McKenzie in the Nationals partyroom was incorrect.

“Who said half my party doesn’t? The fact is, again, it’s just media speculation. Media analysis – I say report the news, don’t write the analysis,” Mr McCormack said.

“Let’s see what the secretary of PM & C, Philip Gaetjens, comes up with in his report. Let’s let that process take its natural course of process, and we’ll see what happens after that.”

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton on Friday backed Mr McCormack’s strong defence of Senator McKenzie and denied there were any upcoming plans for a wider cabinet reshuffle.

“If you strip away the emotion and look at the facts as we should do. I don’t think that a case has been made for her removal,” he told the Nine Network.

“We all make decisions in our portfolios. That is exactly what she has done. There was no funding provided to a project that wasn’t recommended.

“The membership for the gun club didn’t come until after the grant had been made.”

“(There will be) No Cabinet reshuffle … everyone is doing a good job.”

Scott Morrison said he would take “whatever action is necessary” against Senator ­McKenzie once he received ­Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet secretary Philip Gaetjens’s investigation into whether her handling of the $100m community sport infrastructure program breached ministerial standards.

Mr Gaetjens is also scrutinising the $36,000 Senator ­McKenzie gave to the Wangaratta clay target club in Victoria when she was a member. She failed to disclose the membership to parliament. The report could be handed to the government as early as this weekend.

Mr McCormack, whose leadership has been under pressure on and off since he took the role in February 2018, said he hoped Senator McKenzie survived the saga and he was not expecting her resignation this week. “I’m sticking by Bridget. We’ve had long discussions about what’s taken place,” he told The Australian.

“Why should she step down? Let’s let the reviews that have been called for take their natural course. Everybody’s innocent until proven otherwise.”

Mr McCormack did not rule out having discussed Senator ­McKenzie’s future during dinner at The Lodge on Wednesday night with the Prime Minister and Josh Frydenberg.

On Thursday, Nationals MPs began canvassing options for ­Senator McKenzie’s replacement, with Water Resources and Drought Minister David Littleproud emerging as a top deputy leader contender.

Resources Minister Matt Canavan was being mooted as ­Nationals Senate leader, with ­Victorian MP Darren Chester ­expected to return to cabinet.

The Australian understands a Nationals partyroom meeting to replace Senator McKenzie was being considered for next week ahead of parliament returning on February 4.

“McCormack’s two leadership rivals in Littleproud and Canavan are in the box seat to move up,” a senior Nationals source said.

“It really weakens his leadership, and will have him watching his back. They’re the next generation. It’s a fact that McCormack’s numbers aren’t as strong as they were when he became leader.”

Another Nationals MP thought Senator McKenzie might be able to hold on because the fallout from any resignation would be ugly for the party.

With 21 lower-house MPs and senators, Nationals partyroom elections are notoriously unpredictable and usually involve several candidates.

Senior government sources said they wanted Senator McKenzie, the Agriculture Minister and former sports minister, to resign before Mr Morrison’s first major speech of the year at the National Press Club next Wednesday.

Several Nationals insiders said Senator McKenzie had threatened to “not go easily” if she was forced out.

“They’re going through a process. Her office is at the stage where they’re pushing back. The reality is … her own colleagues view her as ‘gaffe-prone’ and it’s more than just her handling of this grants program,” the insider said.

A Nationals MP said: “She’ll sing like a canary if they get rid of her. No one can do all that organisation … for who gives those grants. That’s got to happen higher up the chain.”

The sports grants were often biased towards marginal and Coalition target seats ahead of last May’s election and ignored recommendations from Sport Australia, the government agency administering the funds.

If Mr Chester, the Veteran Affairs Minister who was dumped from cabinet by Barnaby Joyce in 2017, returns to a senior role his promotion would open up a reshuffle in the outer ministry.

Those in the mix for new roles include rookie Queensland senator Susan McDonald and NSW MPs Mark Coulton and Andrew Gee — allies of Mr McCormack — and Lyne MP David Gillespie.

Asked if Senator McKenzie needed to resign, Mr Morrison said: “That process (the Gaetjens review) is important, has been put in place on many of these occasions simply to ensure that there’s a consistency of application and assessment in relation to these issues. It’s the right thing to do for me to seek advice on those matters and I’m awaiting that advice.”

Senator McKenzie’s spokeswoman said she was not resigning and actively engaged in the Gaetjens review.

Attorney-General Christian Porter has also sought advice from the government’s solicitor-general, Stephen Donaghue QC, as to whether she had legal authority to approve the sports grants.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton on Friday backed Mr McCormack’s strong defence of Senator McKenzie and denied there were any upcoming plans for a wider cabinet reshuffle.

“If you strip away the emotion and look at the facts as we should do. I don’t think that a case has been made for her removal,” he told the Nine Network.

“We all make decisions in our portfolios. That is exactly what she has done. There was no funding provided to a project that wasn’t recommended.

“The membership for the gun club didn’t come until after the grant had been made.”

“(There will be) No Cabinet reshuffle ... everyone is doing a good job.”

Mr Dutton said on Thursday she did not need to stand aside and the government would not listen to Twitter or “hang people out to dry”.

Labor deputy leader Richard Marles said he expected Senator McKenzie to stay in her job because she was being “protected” by colleagues in the Nationals.

“This was a Liberal Party sandbagging scheme, that is ultimately what it was,” Mr Marles said. “Bridget McKenzie will stay there because she is protected by the National Party. In this Government everyone is protected by someone.”

The Australian understands Labor is confident it will be able to get answers to remaining questions over the sports grants program through Senate estimates and a parliamentary inquiry, including the full list of 2056 applications that would detail who missed out.

Additional reporting: Geoff Chambers