Bridget McKenzie ANAO
Former minister for agriculture Bridget McKenzie, who was involved in the 'sports rorts' scandal (Image: AAP/Mick Tsikas)

A year and a half after losing her job in the Morrison ministry amid the sports rorts affair, Senator Bridget McKenzie is back facing questions over her role in a new government grants scheme.

The $280 million Black Summer Bushfire Recovery Grants Program has been set up to help businesses and communities struggling after the 2019-20 bushfires. But just weeks after McKenzie announced the scheme in her newly appointed role as minister for emergency management, it’s already copping criticism. 

Complete discretion

Independent MP Helen Haines, of the marginal northern Victorian electorate of Indi — which will likely receive funding under the scheme — told Crikey she was concerned the minister had complete discretion over the funding — something that had been a key feature in the sports rorts and more recent commuter car park scandals.

“I’m really, really concerned that there is so much ministerial discretion in this grant. I think that’s a bad idea,” Haines said. “The scheme that should be firmly attached to need, and that need should be transparent.”

She also questioned the scheme’s eligibility criteria, which she believes could see towns unaffected by bushfires receive funding. 

“You have to ask yourself about the eligibility of a town thousands of kilometres away from the 2020 bushfires. I just want an explanation. We have seen other grant programs rorted, there’s plenty of evidence of that. And there’s never any repercussions.”

East Gippsland Shire Council Mayor Mendy Urie, whose community was affected by the 2020 bushfires, said she was also concerned that money could end up going where it wasn’t needed. “We think that the guidelines weren’t appropriate and didn’t give appropriate weight to need,” she said.

A statement from the National Recovery and Resilience Agency defended the program, saying that the minister would make the final decision based on advice from an assessment committee.

“Grants will be determined on merit,” it said.

McKenzie defends ministerial discretion

Three weeks after she returned to the front bench following the reappointment of Barnaby Joyce as Nationals leader, McKenzie is now in charge of overseeing millions in government grants schemes as part of the emergency management portfolio.

When questioned by Labor yesterday during question time over how many of those schemes she had complete discretion over, she defended the need for ministers to be the ultimate deciders when it comes to administering grants.

“Ministerial discretion is absolutely key to how our government functions,” she said. “My ministerial discretion, in other programs I’ve administered, resulted in a fairer outcome for Australian taxpayers.”

More than $5 billion in taxpayer funds have been misused due to inadequate checks on ministerial power according to the Centre for Public Integrity (CPI), which has exposed the extent to which taxpayer funds have been rorted by the federal government. It found a further $5 billion was at risk of being misused.

CPI chair Anthony Whealy QC warned ministerial oversight was the key factor that allowed the government to use taxpayer money for political gain. 

“Ministers have too much control, departments aren’t following proper processes, and pork-barrelling is allowed to continue,” he said.

The scheme is one of many bushfire funding grants being run out of the Morrison government’s National Recovery and Resilience Agency, which has separately been accused of funnelling money to companies controlled by big political donors, including billionaire Anthony Pratt’s Visy paper recycling empire. The agency is now being overseen by former Liberal NT chief minister and ex-national president of the Liberal Party Shane Stone.

Labor’s disaster and emergency management spokesperson Murray Watt said McKenzie was not fit to oversee any funds.

“Barely a month into the job and we have already seen criticism of funding decisions for bushfire recovery under McKenzie’s watch,” he said. “These funds should be used for preparing, protecting and helping communities recovery from disasters. Not used as another slush fund for Scott Morrison and Bridget McKenzie.”