A Minns Labor Government will overhaul the grants process to restore integrity and public faith, placing pork-barrelling protections in the law and routinely auditing disaster relief payments following the latest grants scandal.
 

This follows the release of a scathing Auditor General’s report examining the Bushfire Local Economic Recovery funding grants.
 

A Labor government would place pork-barrelling protections in the law, issuing a statutory regulation to deal with key aspects of the whole-of-government guidelines for grant funding including that:

• All grant programmes have a designated decisionmaker,
• All grants programmes have clear, transparent and public guidelines and eligibility criteria that inform the awarding of grants,
• A Minister (or other decision-maker) who approves or declines a grant must record the decision in writing, including the reasons for the decision (and any departure from the recommendation of officials), having regard to the grant guidelines.
   

This approach is in line with Recommendation 1 of the ICAC Report ‘Investigation into Pork Barrelling’ in NSW issued. The Government have refused to adopt this approach, instead publishing a Premier’s memorandum.
 

A Labor Government would ensure that for any future disaster relief grants, all grant details will be forwarded to the Auditor General within three months from the date of approval, to allow timely auditing and greater public confidence in the process.

Any future fast track disaster funding grants would be considered high risk grants under the grants framework and the Auditor-General would be required to conduct regular performance audits in relation to them. This is consistent with Recommendation 21 of the ICAC report.
 

In one of the worst examples of the inequities in this fund a grant for firefighters in the Blue Mountains was denied, while instead in a Nationals Party seat of Oxley a skydiving adventure park received one of the largest bushfire recovery grant.
 

The sky diving project received $11 million – which was $3.5 million more than the local council had requested.
 

Blue Mountains council put in 24 grant applications totalling $5.45 million. All were denied after the Deputy Premier’s office inserted a $1 million threshold that had not previously been in the guidelines.

One proposal that was rejected was a $75,000 request for upgraded toilet facilities for the Mount Riverview Rural Fire Service, a station with up to 88 RFS staff.
 

Instead funding was allocated to the Macleay Valley Skydiving Adventure Park including a metre-deep canopy swoop pond for skydiving, a BMX pump track and an indoor rock climbing gym.
 

Chris Minns, NSW Labor leader said:
 

“The politicisation of disaster relief funding by the NSW Liberals and Nationals is a new low for Australian politics.”
 

“If an Australian needs help, their government should be there to help, regardless of where they live or who they voted for.”
 

“Under Labor, the pork-barrelling and politicisation of public money ends.”

“We will put key pork-barrelling protections  into law.”

John Graham, Shadow Special Minister of State said:
 

“These grants were approved by John Barilaro and Dominic Perrottet when they went to the Expenditure Review Committee.”
  ”How does the Premier explain his decision to deny Blue Mountains firefighters a toilet upgrade as bushfire funds were used to pork-barrel the state?”

CHRIS MINNS MP

NSW LABOR LEADER
 

JOHN GRAHAM MLC
NSW DEPUTY LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION IN THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
NSW SHADOW SPECIAL MINISTER OF STATE