MEMBER for Mallee Anne Webster has denied claims The Nationals used grants programs to pork-barrel in the electorate.
Regional Development Minister Catherine King announced before Tuesday’s Budget the government was not proceeding with two funding programs she said “favoured” Nationals seats.
Ms King said the Building Better Regions Fund (BBRF) round 6 would not proceed and the Community Development Grants (CDG) program would close, with both to be replaced by new programs.
Dr Webster said the Coalition would not “accept the language of rorts or pork-barreling” coming from the government.
“It is offensive for regions like Mallee to have the Labor Government choose to frame any spending or investment in our communities as politicisation,” Dr Webster said.
“Councils across my electorate consider funding to them as necessary – not rorts.”
An Australian National Audit Office review of $1.15 billion in grants during the first five rounds of the BBRF found Nationals electorates received $104 million – or 29 per cent – more funding than would have been awarded on a merit basis.
While it noted the BBRF was “partly effective and consistent” with grant guidelines, the July report concluded there was an “increasing disconnect” between the published merit criteria and applications approved by the ministerial panel.
Ms King said despite the evidence, Coalition MPs defended the fund and attempted to “claim election promises as funded
projects” while also ignoring “anything resembling proper process”.
Dr Webster this week blasted the government for scrapping the grants, providing a list of projects she said were “committed to be funded” before the decision. The Nationals announced an election promise in April to fund $13.5 million for a walking and cycling track along the Murray River, which Dr Webster said this week was part of the CDG program.
No funding for the track was specifically detailed in the Coalition’s April 2022-23 Budget, handed down weeks before the election announcements.
Dr Webster also announced before the election $2.5 million for reconstruction of Karinie Street in Swan Hill’s industrial area.
Swan Hill Council had also applied for $3.5 million for Reimagining Robinvale under the BBRF.
Dr Webster moved to dismiss any notion of false promises, saying the Coalition had “committed to funding under the provision of good governance”.
Swan Hill Council economic development manager Heather Green said while council was disappointed the funding programs had ended, council was pleased to see the new funding program, for which the Robinvale project application could be made towards.
“Work is not wasted because we made that application earlier in the year,” she said.
“We expect more details in the next few weeks on the details of that program, we just need to check the criteria.”
Ms Green said the $2.5 million for Karinie Street was not awarded, rather it was just an election promise.
