QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE: TAKE NOTE OF ANSWERS
Senator HENDERSON (Victoria) (15:19): Yes, we do come in here to raise very serious concerns about the truthfulness and credibility of this Prime Minister. Mr Albanese has serious questions to answer about a $6 million taxpayer funded grant which Labor provided to his local Marrickville golf club. This is not just a simple story about a golf club receiving funding; it is about how the club was selected in the first place.
Labor established a $560 million—more than half a billion dollars—invitation-only community infrastructure program to deliver its election commitments. The Centre for Public Integrity has made it very clear that this fund is a misuse of public money or serious pork barrelling. The Chair of the Centre for Public Integrity, former justice Anthony Whealy, said: I think there's a heavy onus on the government now to justify the process it has used.
If they cannot justify that process, then I think the public in Australia would be driven to the conclusion that this is the misuse of public money at a serious level. Critically, clubs and community organisations could not simply apply for this money. We are talking about more than half a billion dollars.
Labor decided who could apply and, out of all the clubs in the entire country, the Marrickville golf club was the only one allowed to apply for funding. Of course, as we know, this club happens to be in the Prime Minister's own electorate. We now know something else.
The ABC has reported this morning that Mr Albanese is an honorary member of the club. The club told the ABC he had been on its books as an honorary member for up to 15 years. That membership was not declared on his parliamentary register of interests.
The Prime Minister has previously spoken openly about his close connection with the club. He's described going there for decades, walking his dog and using the club—poor old Toto being dragged into it again. But apparently he didn't remember that he was a member and he did not think it was appropriate to declare it.
In 2019, when there was a proposal to reduce the golf course from 18 holes to nine, Mr Albanese even publicly declared an interest because of his personal connection to the club. So Australians are entitled to ask a very simple question: who decided that this particular golf club should be invited to apply for $6 million of taxpayers' money? Labor has still not explained who constructed the list of projects, what process was used to select them or why particular organisations were invited while others were not.
An analysis by the Centre for Public Integrity found 73 per cent of the $560 million fund went to seats notionally held by Labor, compared with 23 per cent that went to coalition held seats. This is another serious integrity fail, and the Prime Minister has many important questions to answer. Question agreed to.