It has been revealed that yet another NSW grant program has been rorted, with nearly 70 per cent of grants being awarded to businesses in Coalition electorates.
The Refresh and Renew Grants program 2020-21 offered grants for tourism operators to improve their facilities to meet consumer expectations, with successful applicants receiving $10,000 in unmatched funding.
Although the Refresh and Renew Grant guidelines provide for an objective assessment process, 70 of 103 awarded grants were awarded to businesses in Coalition electorates.
Although the grants are for regional businesses, more than half of regional electorates which are eligible for the grants are held by Labor and crossbench Members of Parliament.
One of these grants was awarded to a café owned by a Government appointed director of Destination North Coast. This grant was favourably assessed by Destination North Coast staff ahead of 141 other applications within the Destination Network which missed out on funding. Documents obtained by the Opposition showing that Destination North Coast staff were aware of the conflict.
Assessment of these grants is highly subjective, with evidence requirements largely being based around providing negative customer feedback from websites like Tripadvisor and Google Reviews to show consumer expectation gaps. An example of demonstrating a consumer expectations gap is given as follows:
A hotel proposes to paint the rooms and replace the mattresses. They supply copies of or links to reviews on Tripadvisor, customer feedback surveys, the businesses [sp] own website and/or other platforms where consumers criticise/comment on the uncomfortable mattresses and marked up or peeling paintwork in the rooms.
Pork barrelling is out of control under the NSW Liberal/National Government, last year Labor also revealed that:
- 95% of the $252m Stronger Communities Fund grants went to councils in Coalition-held or marginal electorates.
- 92 per cent of the projects chosen for the Schools Renewable Energy Infrastructure Pilot Project were in Coalition seats
- Three-quarters of the grants from the Greater Sydney Sports Facility fund were awarded to Liberal-held seats in the lead-up to the March 2019 election; and
- Backbench Liberal and National MPs and MLCs were given the right to assess and announce grant funding in non-government electorates.
- 75% of ClubGRANTS Infrastructure funds were awarded to Coalition-held seats.
In November last year the Premier said:
“I think it’s important there is public confidence to the expenditure of taxpayer funds.”
[Dominic Perrottet, Press Conference, 3 November 2021]
In a historic vote, Labor’s Private Member’s Bill to stop the rorts passed the Upper House in November 2021 in a show of solidarity against the culture of pork barrelling in NSW.
Enough is enough. The Premier must end the rorts and make the grants process more accountable and vote for Labor’s Bill in the Legislative Assembly.
Labor’s Bill will make the grants process fairer and more accountable by:
- Creating a single Grants Register – centralised, transparent and published;
- Requiring Ministers to give reasons in writing for departing from Departmental recommendations;
- Giving “follow the dollar” powers to the Auditor-General to audit grant recipient effectiveness.
NSW Labor leader Chris Minns said:
“Yet again the NSW Government has been caught treating public funds like its own piggy bank.”
“Thousands of eligible small businesses outside of Coalition electorates have missed out on a fair share of grant funding.”
“Dominic Perrottet needs to put the community ahead of his political party and mates. He should back Labor’s bill and end the grant rorts in NSW.”
NSW Shadow Special Minister of State, John Graham said:
“The Premier needs to explain to small businesses that missed out, why another grant program has been rorted.”
“Enough is enough, we need to fix the broken grants culture in NSW.”
“The grants bill is a fork in the road for the Premier. There is cross party support for this bill. Why is the Premier opposing it?”