Former NSW Minister for Sport intervened in grants program

NSW Government Minister Stuart Ayres is reported to have directly intervened in a sporting grants program run by the NSW Office of Sport, which awarded the bulk of a $33.4 million funding pool to projects in Liberal electorates in the lead up to 2019 state election.

As reported today by the Sydney Morning Herald, Minister Ayres had a direct hand in determining which projects were funded under the NSW Government's Greater Sydney Sports Facility Fund when he was NSW Sports Minister in 2018.

While the Sydney Morning Herald has reported that it “remains unclear which projects would have already been successful prior to Mr Ayres' involvement”, is advised that, while Minister for Sport, he and his ministerial office twice intervened in the grants process for the 2018 funding round of the Greater Sydney Sports Facility Fund.

Documents disclosed under freedom of information laws reveal Minister Ayres' office had a direct hand in determining which applications were shortlisted for funding.

He then handpicked five of the 15 successful projects at the final approvals stage - a decision that involved rejecting two of 12 projects recommended by the Office of Sports' assessment panel.

The NSW Government of Premier Gladys Berejiklian set up the Greater Sydney Sports Facility Fund with a $100 million investment in April 2018, to be spread over three years, with councils and sporting organisations invited to apply for grants of between $500,000 and $5 million.

The fund was first embroiled in controversy in January, after the Sydney Morning Herald revealed that 12 of the 15 grants were announced by Liberal MPs and candidates in marginal seats ahead of the NSW state election in March 2019.

A total of $33.4 million in grants were awarded in the inaugural funding round, with $25 million worth of projects located in Liberal seats. No projects were funded in the Labor voting areas of Canterbury Bankstown, Blacktown, Liverpool and Campbelltown council areas despite the Office of Sport receiving applications from each area, including eight from Canterbury.

A ministerial briefing document, obtained by Labor, shows the NSW Office of Sport received 146 valid applications for funding in 2018, with an assessment panel recommending 26 projects proceed to stage 2 for further consideration.

However, the document stated this list was "further reduced to 18 following a review from the Minister's office".

The document stated “following discussions with the Minister's office, the number of projects were further reduced to achieve a more competitive field for the available $33 million and to reduce the expense and resources that applicants would need to spend on preparing stage 2 applications.”

As reported by the Sydney Morning Herald, the panel ultimately recommended 12 projects be funded, but Minister Ayres rejected two of the larger projects in favour of five smaller ones.

NSW Office of Sport Director of Executive Services Nicolai Meulengracht confirmed this in an email exchange to Labor's sports spokeswoman Lynda Voltz.

Meulengracht wrote in a 22nd April email "I have been advised that the panel recommended a list of projects that included both smaller and larger projects to be funded within the app. $33 million available that year. The then Minister for Sport decided to take out two large projects to instead fund five smaller projects.”

Both Minister Ayres and the NSW Office of Sport declined to say which eight projects were removed from the shortlist or what local government areas they were in.

Minister Ayres rejected suggestions the program had been used for political ends while, in a statement, a spokesman for the NSW Office of Sport said the projects were assessed by the panel against the fund's objectives and assessment criteria, and an independent probity adviser had oversight.

Earlier this year, it was revealed that Minister Ayres approved a $12 million grant for a sports centre at the Penrith Panthers club, allocated days before the 2015 NSW state election was used in the development of a conference centre and underground car park by the Panthers Group.

Click here to read the original article in the Sydney Morning Herald.

Image used for illustrative purposes only.