Senator Bridget McKenzie

Local Senator, Bridget McKenzie, is under increasing pressure – either to quit or be sacked – following more details of her funding approvals for shooting clubs. Senator McKenzie is a keen shooter.

“Embattled Nationals deputy Bridget McKenzie signed off on more than $1 million for shooting clubs and associations during her time as federal sports minister, potentially opening her up to further allegation of conflicts of interest,” reported Rob Harris in The Age on Saturday (Jan. 25).

The Age revealed that the Victorian senator had failed to declare she was a member of a Wangaratta shooting club she awarded a $36,000 grant to upgrade its facilities. Senator McKenzie claims she acted within guidelines.

“She served as sports minister from December 20, 2017 until the May 2019 election, signing off on $1,004,219 for shooting organisations, including a $100,000 grant to Shooting Australia,” The Age reported.

“”The auditor-general’s report last week slammed Senator McKenzie over her handling of the program, which she oversaw as sports minister, revealing she and her staff intervened hundreds of times to overturn the merit-based assessments of applications from sporting groups for cash,” the Nine Newspapers report said.

Senator McKenzie’s position has been under the spotlight, especially over the past week. A media conference, held during the week by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, spent considerable time on the Senator’s doings.

Meanwhile, McEwen MHR Rob Mitchell (Labor), has slammed the Morrison government for the damning information uncovered in the Australian National Audit Office report into the Community Sport Infrastructure grants program.

Mr Mitchell said 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”.

More than 400 grassroots sports club had their applications, which were highly regarded by Sport Australia, thrown out by this Government so they could funnel money into marginal seats instead.

“This betrayal of the sporting community means it is now impossible for clubs to have any faith that this Government will assess their grant applications on merit.

“Key findings from the report include:
• Then Minister for Sport Bridget McKenzie’s office ran “its own assessment process” that was “inconsistent with the published guidelines”;
• Ministerial funding decisions “drew upon considerations other than the assessment criteria, such as project locations including Coalition ‘marginal’ electorates and ‘targeted’ electorates”.

“It is blatantly clear that Senator McKenzie politicised the Community Sports Infrastructure grants program, ignoring the advice of the experts at Sport Australia and disregarding the criteria that dedicated teams of volunteers worked hard to meet and address. What a slap in
the face to those people” Mr. Mitchell said.

“If you are a local sporting organisation that applied for funding and missed out, please reach out to my office on 5716 3000. Australians expect a fair and level playing field in sport and they expect it from their Government.

“If Scott Morrison has any respect for the standards expected of a Government Minister, he must stand down Bridget McKenzie, release a full list of the projects hand-picked by Bridget McKenzie as Minister, as well as those that missed out because of the Morrison Government’s pork-barrelling.

“Failure to do so will prove that he does not believe his Government is accountable to Australians,” Mr Mitchell said.