Independent MP Helen Haines brands invitation-only grant program as deliberate pork-barrelling
Independent MP Helen Haines accused the government’s invitation-only infrastructure grant scheme of being designed for pork-barrelling after an audit showed most of the money went to Labor-held seats.
Independent MP Helen Haines publicly denounced the invitation-only Major and Local Community Infrastructure Program, labeling it “pork-barrelling by design” after a Centre for Public Integrity review found that roughly 75 % of its funds were allocated to electorates held by Labor in the 2025 federal election. She questioned Infrastructure Minister Catherine King in parliament, who confirmed the scheme was intended to fulfil election commitments, prompting Haines to call for the Commonwealth grant rules to be rewritten with enforceable standards.
The live blog also highlighted that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese holds an undisclosed honorary membership at Marrickville Golf Club, which was awarded a $6 million grant through the same fund. Additional items included Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young’s comments on social-media doomscrolling, Treasury forecasts that the aged-pension share of GDP will drop to 1.8 percent by 2066, and a One Nation proposal to let renters and mortgage-paying households draw on superannuation early.
Why it matters
It exposes possible partisan use of public grant money and fuels calls for stricter, transparent funding rules.
How this story developed
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