Marrickville Golf Club, in the prime minister Anthony Albanese’s electorate, received a $6m grant from an invitation-only grants program. Photograph: Blake Sharp-Wiggins/The GuardianView image in fullscreenMarrickville Golf Club, in the prime minister Anthony Albanese’s electorate, received a $6m grant from an invitation-only grants program. Photograph: Blake Sharp-Wiggins/The GuardianAlbanese says ABC ‘should do better’ after it revealed his membership of golf club given $6m grantFunding from $560m invitation-only scheme prompts calls to make grant rules more transparent
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Anthony Albanese has claimed he did not know he was a member of his local golf club when his government gave it $6m for renovations, accusing the ABC of inappropriate reporting.
The money came from an opaque $560m invitation-only grants scheme to fund projects Labor promised at the 2025 election, largely for Labor-held seats, prompting calls to make grant rules more transparent.
The prime minister had not declared he was an honorary member of the Marrickville Golf Club, which falls in his inner-west Sydney electorate of Grayndler. Albanese told ABC TV on Wednesday the membership was issued by the club 15 years ago without his knowledge.
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“I haven’t been in there for years,” Albanese said. “I used to walk my dog along the path, as lots of people do, because it’s a community club.”
The ABC, which first reported the story on Wednesday, said that Albanese’s office had not answered its questions about his membership, or the process by which the Marrickville Golf Club was identified and recommended for the grant. Albanese accused the broadcaster of failing to report the facts.
“The ABC were told information they chose not to publish appropriately,” he said. “The ABC should do better.”
Read moreAlbanese said the club’s funding was meant to fix issues caused by raw sewerage flowing into the adjacent Cooks River.
“I make no apologies for my electorate being serviced by me as a good local member,” Albanese said
In opposition, Labor claimed the Coalition government unfairly favoured its seats. That controversy, which became known as “sports rorts”, led to then sports minister Bridget McKenzie resigning from cabinet after she failed to disclose membership of a gun club that received funding. An inquiry by the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet found she had breached ministerial standards. Albanese’s electorate received two more grants, for a women’s health centre and a domestic violence shelter.
Eden-Monaro, a New South Wales marginal electorate held by a Labor minister, received eight grants totalling $26.4m, according to analysis of the $560m program by the Centre for Public Integrity (CPI).
Kristy McBain, the minister, told ABC Radio she had listened to local councils’ priorities for new infrastructure then put those forward as potential election commitments that Labor could make.
Crossbench MPs complained that councils in their electorates were not given the opportunity to seek funding from the program. McBain said in response: “I mean, obviously that’s how election commitments work.”
While Albanese and McBain’s electorates received millions of dollars, NSW over all received disproportionately less funding from the program in terms of its population, the CPI found. Queensland also received a disproportionately small amount while Victoria and Tasmania received disproportionately more.
The infrastructure minister, Catherine King, said she had signed off on applications under the program after they had been assessed to show they met value for money.
“That is what happens after every single election,” King said.
The justifications for the grants have not been made public. Thirteen crossbenchers have called for the government reform its grants rules to be transparent about how and why it chose to allocate public money.
The Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie said the existing rules permitting funding for “pet projects” were undermining Australia’s democracy.
“I don’t care how the government spins it,” Lambie said. “Using taxpayer money to buy votes or benefit party followers should be seen as corruption because that’s what it is.”
