The Prime Minister’s claims that his governments’ sports rorts scheme was about ensuring “that girls didn’t have to change out the back of the shed” don’t stack up.
In his National Press Club spiel yesterday, Scott Morrison said:
“…let’s remember why we were doing it, because we didn’t want to see girls changing in cars or out the back of the sheds rather than having their own changing facilities. That’s why we did it.”
What does Scott Morrison have to say to the female footballers at South Adelaide Football Club in the safe Labor seat of Kingston, which had its application for a grant to fund female change rooms rejected in favour of a grant for female change rooms at a rugby club with no female players in the Coalition-held marginal seat of Sturt?
Across Australia, in seats not held or targeted by the Coalition and even in safe Coalition-held seats, grassroots sports clubs were cheated out of grants because the Morrison Government used this program as its own personal pork-barrelling account.
Clubs applied for grants to fund female change rooms and other projects supporting girls and women to play sport, but they were snubbed.
Some of the highest ranked applications to be rejected by Bridget McKenzie were for projects focused on female participation and supporting inclusiveness in sport.
Despite being recommended for grants by Sport Australia, those clubs were dudded because they weren’t on the Morrison government’s list of marginal and target seats.
Those clubs are owed an apology by Scott Morrison and Bridget McKenzie.
The Prime Minister should give up the marketing messages and take some responsibility for the appalling way his government has treated Australians in communities whose votes his government thought it didn’t need.