Politicians would lose the ability to decide who gets billions of dollars in grants every year under a proposal from an independent think tank aimed at ending pork-barrelling in key marginal electorates.The Grattan Institute, in a report released overnight, said the “waste” of pork-barrelling had contributed to a fall in community confidence in Australian politics and increased perceptions that the political system was corrupt.
It showed huge discrepancies in the 19,000 grants allocated during that period, with Coalition seats sharing $1.9 billion compared to Labor seats’ $530 million. Adjacent seats received vastly different allocations with the only difference being the political hue of the electorate.
The Grattan research, which used much of the information uncovered by The Herald and The Age, found marginal seats were funded at almost four times the rate of safe seats in the $1 billion Community Development Grant program.
Rugby League Rorts: how Scott Morrison funnelled millions from Commonwealth grant programs into Rugby League
Brisbane Broncos.
One grant contributed $21.3m of the $23.7m. Initially the “Beyond the Broncos Girls Academy” received $8.8m for a 27-month period, a small variation decreased the amount by $200,000 after 11 months.
A second variation then added $13m and extending the contract by 24 months. The initial grant and variations were not allocated by a tender process, instead they were direct non-competitive grants.
The 1936 S23(i) Tax Act making sporting clubs tax exempt still apply to the Brisbane Broncos (Income from non-members are taxable)
Brisbane Broncos is a publicly listed company
News Corp owns 69% of the Brisbane Broncos.
News Corp owns the broadcast rights for NRL
News Corp is foreign-owned and often pays low or no taxes here.
The Australian National Audit Office is considering an audit into the administration of the Safer Communities Fund overseen by the Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton.
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