Inquiry into Commonwealth grants administration Submission Robyn Seth-Purdie

Ministerial Code of Conduct The Albanese Government’s Code of Conduct for Ministers requires them to act in accordance with principles of integrity, fairness, accountability, ministerial responsibility, and in the public interest – ‘that is, based on their best judgment of what will advance the common good of the people of Australia’.11 However, the previous government’s Statement of Ministerial S. [...] As the Government made the decision on the allocation of grants and the Department is implementing the decision, it was decided to not seek formal AGS advice on the constitutional risk rating and legislative authority.28 Recommendations That Commonwealth Grant Rules and Guidelines and the PGPA Act be strengthened to make it absolutely clear that they are binding on decision-making on all forms of. [...] The award of funding was only partly consistent with the guidelines.33 In its analysis of awards under the Community Sport Infrastructure (CSI) grants program the ANAO concluded that 61 per cent of grants approved by the minister would not have been approved had projects been funded according to merit.34 In the case of the Female Facilities and Water Safety Stream program, the role of the public s. [...] Disallowance of grants by Parliament In the Democracy Agenda for the 47th Parliament, the Australia Institute proposed a Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Grants, modelled on the successful, non-partisan Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Delegated Legislation. [...] To address the unfair and ineffective distribution of funds, guidelines and the PGPA Act should require grants to be distributed in an open and merits-based manner, in accordance with the aims of the program under which they are distributed, and clarify that pork barrelling can constitute corrupt conduct.