In order to rort the Community Sport Infrastructure Program, the government abandoned its own, bespoke, $100 million online grants platform meant to enable access to all Commonwealth grants.
In 2015, as part of its “Digital Transformation Agenda”, the government committed to spend “$106.8 million for streamlining government grants administration by adopting standard business processes, a common ICT platform, improved reporting arrangements and a single portal to search and apply for grant opportunities”.
The “Streamlining Grants Administration Initiative” led to the creation of two grants hubs in 2016 — one for business, the other for community groups and individuals — operated by the Department of Social Services, which were intended to be one-stop-shops for all Commonwealth grants.
They would provide information about grant opportunities, applications for them, and record-keeping about who had received them. Via Grantconnect, potential applicants can learn about grant opportunities across the whole of government and how to apply for them, as well as find out who has received them.
As all Commonwealth agencies moved to Grantconnect, the government promoted its initiative. In last year’s budget, it boasted
The Streamlining Government Grants Administration Program continues to reduce the duplication of effort and expense associated with agencies administering grants programs individually. The Program has established two new Grants Hubs (the Community Grants Hub and the Business Grants Hub) to deliver around $10 billion per annum in grants on behalf of 14 agencies, and to provide an improved experience to grant applicants and recipients.
The Department of Health was one of the first to sign up to Grantconnect, with Health Minister Greg Hunt spruiking the use of the system in his media releases. Nationals Minister Bridget McKenzie also recommended the use of Grantconnect when she contacted local councils advising of extra drought funding in 2018.
The hubs are intended for all Commonwealth entities’ use, not just departments administering grants. Regulators like ASIC, non-corporate Commonwealth entities like Geoscience Australia and corporate Commonwealth entities like Wine Australia and the National Disability Insurance Agency all use it.
However, the Sports Commission, a corporate Commonwealth entity, does not yet use Grantconnect.
And when the government decided to fund a new sports infrastructure program in 2018, it not merely avoided handing control of the program to a Commonwealth department, but it avoided using the very site it had spruiked as the one-stop shop for all Commonwealth grants.
This was, seemingly, a peculiar decision. The Department of Health, which has responsibility for sport, was already using Grantconnect to provide sporting grants, large and small, in programs like the Sporting Integrity Program and Physical Activity Projects program in 2018.
And sporting infrastructure grants were already available via Grantconnect from the Department of Infrastructure’s Regional Development programs. As Grantconnect shows, these were in 2018 already providing a wide range of grants for projects like upgrading change rooms and showers, improving playing surfaces, fixing tennis courts, providing Little Athletics facilities, or improving lighting.
Indeed, the new program was actually announced in the Department of Infrastructure budget papers, and its similarity to existing programs was referred to as “complementing existing government investments through regional development programs”.
Why did the government not simply expand the existing infrastructure programs that were already helping sports clubs around Australia?
Giving the program to infrastructure, however, would have meant the Commonwealth Grants Rules and Guidelines would have had to be applied. They require, as the Department of Finance explains, “that Ministers must not approve a grant or group of grants without first receiving written advice from officials on the merits of the grant or group of grants”. (Emphasis original.)
But the last thing the government wanted was written advice on the merits of grants — it wanted to pork barrel marginal electorates, not allocate grants on merit.
Indeed, the Australian National Audit Office noted that Bridget McKenzie’s office explicitly told the Australian Sports Commission not to send its assessment of grant applications, approved by the commission board, to the minister, as that would create a paper trail that would shows the divergence between what the minister approved and what was recommended on their merits.
And putting the program on Grantconnect would also have come with extra requirements: when grants are allocated, full details must be published within 21 days, along with any variations.
If the grants McKenzie wanted to rort were published rapidly, not merely would Coalition MPs and candidates have less opportunity to use the awarding of grants for PR purposes, the details would demonstrate how skewed the grants were toward marginal seats.
It was an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to hide blatant porkbarrelling via a program that didn’t need to exist, administered by an agency that shouldn’t have done it, avoiding the government’s own probity and transparency requirements.
How can we expect a government, which has so clearly lost its own way with respect to matters of ethics and morality, to provide effective leadership to a community or country?
I think it’s abundantly clear that we can’t.
Just one more example to that litany of a concentration on communal party egocentricity : manifesting in manifest incompetence.
There’s a certain obvious contempt shown by this government for those communities in those seats – that didn’t meet their political criteria for these allocations – and thus were overlooked for that needed help.
Littleproud this morning, trying to defend McKenzie, didn’t mention those seats ignored – let alone why.
I think most people don’t have a problem with the GRANTS being issued, it is the PORK BARRELING people have a problem with, it’s the OUTRIGHT LIE’S with this supposed to be a government
It’s a smidge late for me to be posting on this thread now, but this provides a graphic clue to Scumbo’s and his government’s thinking…
https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/understanding-scott-morrisons-pentecostalism/id1461999702?i=1000444707187
What else needs to be said…?
This tired and seemingly corrupt government is still trying to present itself as new.
What a marketing spin is that?
Who would have thought that a boy from Waverley and a smug First Fleeter could think that up.
Then of course there was the little matter of election money, brought about by hugging and then stabbing the back the man who single handedly funded the previous election.
A bit if a pickle but nothing, our Scotty from marketing can’t overcome.
Sink all up, $176,000,000 into a fund and hand it over to a Minister who then informs the Sports Corporation that she will be the decision maker. Dole it out a little like confetti during the campaign. Marginal seats, destabilize Labor seats and of course the hope that the fair citizens of Mosman may change their minds if Toned Abs turns up a cool half a million dollars for the rowers club.
What could go wrong with that??
The problem with Climate Change is that like the blue heeler your friend owns, it will bite you on the bum soon as it feels like!
And with a denial attitude and a dismissive comment off to Hawaii he went with nary a good bye or a hand over to the Deputy PM whilst 4 states are on fire.
The ex fire and emergency chiefs weren’t that helpful when they pointed out that the first dollop of money we haven’t got in the budget ( and so there goes the surplus) that was given out, would only extend the leases on some of the aerial assets for about 6 weeks or less. They then helpfully again said for $80,000,000 we could own our own.
About as much as the increase in the Sporting Facilities Grant Scheme in the final year of expansion.
Irresponsible ignorant and superficial, at best, was the next effort from scottie from marketing was just plain unbelievably stupid!
An ad featuring the ADF (Unacceptable politicization of the defense forces) featuring a donate button for the Liberal Party authorized by Smoko.
Ok, I think I have used all of the adjectives I think of every time he now shows his face on TV and Bridget McKenzie should be getting a little nervous by now, because Scottie from marketing has a habit of throwing people under buses (He gave it a red hot shot with Gladys).
I really don’t think the use of the word rort is correct, either.
If you or I used well over $100,000,000 of government money on a popularity contest we would be facing the federal Court for stealing from the Commonwealth.
Why is Scottie from marketing, Joshie and Matti from finance and Bridget from the shooting club not being charged??
Come on folks, please. Transparency when your aim is to corrupt the process, seek political advantage and buy votes with public funds? No, no, no, not in any government ‘Smoko’ Morrison runs, oh, no, no, no. Can anyone be in any doubt why a Federal ICAC is like a pink unicorn – lovely to dream of but not reality.
Fabulous work Bernard. The way you explain this makes the minister’s position untenable, if it wasn’t already.