Rob Mitchell MHR

McEwen MHR Rob Mitchell (Labor) says that the people his electorate deserves better than the “rorts” with which he accuses Senator Bridget McKenzie (Nationals) of being involved in.

Mr Mitchell slammed the Morrison Government for the damning information uncovered in the Australian National Audit Office report released this week into the Community Sport Infrastructure grants program.

The report reveals taxpayers’ money meant for local sports clubs were misappropriated by the Coalition to pork-barrel key marginal seats ahead of the election.

“Mr Morrison owes an apology to the hundreds of sporting groups who or that applied for grants in good faith, only to find out that they were never even in with a shot because they weren’t on Mr Morrison’s secret list of target seats”, Mr. Mitchell said.

“Here in McEwen, we have so many worthy community projects which are shovel ready and crying out for Federal funding, but would never make the cut under former-Minister McKenzie’s sham of a process.

“Our sporting clubs deserve better from their government, and they deserve answers”.

“The report also reveals that more than 61 per cent of projects awarded funding, nearly two out of three, were not recommended by Sport Australia based on assessment against the published criteria.

“We have learned that by the time grants under the third and final round were awarded in April, just weeks before the election, “the assessment panel and the Sport Australia board did not play a role in deciding which applications should be recommended”, Mr Mitchell said.