Sports rorts scandal fallout: Labor demands funding for failed projects in marginal seats - and pushes for Senate inquiry
- Labor wants government to fund projects that qualified for cash but failed
- Opposition is also pushing on with a Senate inquiry into the 'sports rorts' affair
- They are keen to hear from the auditor-general who was scathing of scheme
Labor wants the federal government to fund projects that qualified for cash under a controversial sports grants scheme but failed because they were not in marginal seats.
The opposition is also pushing on with a Senate inquiry into the 'sports rorts' affair, which claimed the scalp of Nationals deputy Bridget McKenzie.
They are particularly keen to hear from the auditor-general, who was scathing of the $100 million scheme.
The opposition is also pushing on with a Senate inquiry into the 'sports rorts' affair, which claimed the scalp of Nationals deputy Bridget McKenzie (pictured)
He found the program was heavily skewed towards seats targeted by the coalition ahead of the 2019 election.
In stark contrast, the head of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet produced a separate report that supposedly found the scheme was above board.
The report has not been made public.
Labor wants to hear from some of the clubs whose applications were overlooked.
The opposition will also do all it can to hear from ministerial advisors.
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'We will use all of the powers available to the Senate to get to the bottom of this absolute rort,' Labor's sports spokesman Don Farrell told reporters.
'If it's possible to get those witnesses to come even if the government resists, or they themselves resist, we will use all of the powers that are available to the Senate to get to the bottom of this.'
Labor is confident the Senate crossbench will support the inquiry, even after Senator McKenzie resigned over the scandal for breaching ministerial standards.
Senator McKenzie awarded $36,000 to a clay shooting club without declaring she was a member.
However, the government has continually claimed there was nothing wrong with the scheme as a whole.
