Fund rejects audit findings of shortcomings over $500,000 referendum grant

The Tasmanian Community Fund has flatly rejected the findings of an Auditor-General’s report which found irregularities around a $557k grant related to the Voice referendum last year.

Tasmanian Community Fund board members Ric De Santi and Alex McKenzie speak to the media on parliament Lawns on Thursday August 8, 2024. Photo: David Killick

The Tasmanian Community Fund board has flatly rejected the findings of an Auditor-General’s report which found irregularities around a $557,000 grant to Australians for Indigenous Constitutional Recognition made in 2023.

Auditor-General Martin Thompson said there had been significant record-keeping shortcomings around the TCF’s processes and considerations leading to its decision, which he said was intended to support the case for a Yes vote in the Voice referendum.

He also found that the assessment of the AICR grant was not conducted in accordance an established and documented grants management framework.

Tasmanian Auditor-General Martin Thompson speaks to the media on parliament Lawns in Hobart on Thursday August 8, 2024. Photo: David Killick

The Fund was created after the sale of the Trust Bank and is government by an independent board which has awarded more than $111 million in grants to more than 3000 projects since 2000.

The inquiry, which considered just a single grant, was prompted by a complaint from Liberal Senator Jonno Duniam.

TCF director Alex McKenzie said the Fund’s board had not been afforded procedural fairness by the Auditor-General and rejected the bulk of his findings.

He said the money had been granted to improve education about the Uluru Statement from the Heart, the referendum process and the Yes case.

“We’re left in this position now, where we’re here on the lawns of parliament having to answer to an Auditor-General’s report that was based on a fundamentally unfair process with fundamentally unfair conclusions,” he said.

“Our process accords with very strong standards of governance.

“It’s a rigorous grant making process. It isn’t the process that the Auditor- General expected to see – but that does not mean it’s not rigorous.”

Mr McKenzie said the TCF board engaged former Solicitor-General Michael O’Farrell SC who had examined the decision and found that the Auditor-General’s findings were not made in accordance with the relevant Act or governance standards.

“Leadership doesn’t mean that you make decisions that everyone likes,” Mr McKenzie said.

“Leadership means sometimes you have to make a decision that may be unpopular with some people, and we accept as a board, that that has happened here.

“But the Tasmanian community can have faith in the Tasmanian Community Fund board and the way we do our business.”

Senator Jonno Duniam speaks to the media on parliament Lawns on Thursday August 8, 2024. Photo: David Killick

Senator Duniam the TCF was set up to support projects and programs that are in the best interests of the Tasmanian community — not political campaigns.

“The TCF board’s actions went well beyond its legislated remit and, no matter anyone’s opinion on the matter of the Voice referendum, is a massive breach of faith with the Tasmanian Community,” he said.

“The TCF is not a treasure chest for activists and their causes, but a fund to support my fellow Tasmanians in need.”

Community Services Minister Roger Jaensch said he would consider amendments to the Tasmanian Community Fund Act by the end of the year.

“The use of public funds for political purposes does not meet community expectations and the Government did not endorse, nor approve, this use of these funds,” he said.

“The Government and the Tasmanian community expect a high degree of diligence, transparency and accountability in the use of public funds.”

“On this basis, I have requested urgent advice to amend the Act to bring the TCF Board’s accountability and governance obligations into line with those of other statutory boards with similar responsibilities for public funds.”