Labor has signalled it may axe an $18m grant to a leadership foundation for which the governor general, David Hurley, personally lobbied the Morrison government .
The government’s leader in the Senate, Penny Wong, revealed on Tuesday the grant to establish the Australian Future Leaders Program “is under review” as part of the October budget, along with other unspecified Coalition initiatives.
But the Albanese government is being asked to make a decision as early as this sitting week, by the Greens and Jacqui Lambie Network giving notice they intend to disallow regulations allowing the $18m grant in the Senate.
On Tuesday the government also faced pressure from the crossbench over its new super fund regulations and from the Liberals over what Anthony Albanese labelled a “short-lived oversight” in Labor minister Kristy McBain selling shares to her husband to comply with the ministerial code of conduct.
Senator David Pocock gave notice he intends to ask the Senate to disallow the new superannuation rules to improve donation transparency, but the Greens said they would negotiate with the government before voting with the Liberals and crossbench to do so.
On Tuesday Tammy Tyrrell, a Jacqui Lambie Network senator used question time to query the $18m grant to be paid to the Australian Future Leaders Foundation.
Announced in the 2022 budget, the $18m to establish the Australian Future Leaders Program was probed by Labor in opposition due to concerns the foundation was not operational before the grant was announced without a competitive tender.
Tyrrell noted the foundation has “no website, no office, no staff, no previous record” and there was “no competitive process” before the grant was announced.
The prime minister’s department has previously said due diligence was carried out before the funding was awarded.
In April 2022 the ABC reported that a spokesperson for Hurley confirmed there had been “several conversations” between him and Scott Morrison dating back to 2020 in relation to the program.
Asked where Labor stands on the grant, Wong replied that she was aware of “some of the issues” Tyrrell had raised from preparations for Senate estimates in opposition.
“I understand that measure along with a number of other measures announced by the previous government is under review,” she said.
Wong said the $18m grant would be reviewed as part of the October budget process and suggested the foundation’s tax deductible gift recipient status would also be “relevant” to that review.
In the House of Representatives question time, senior Liberals including deputy leader, Sussan Ley, probed the government over whether McBain, the minister for regional development, local government and territories, had breached the ministerial code of conduct over her shareholdings.
On Monday, McBain explained she sold her shares to her husband but realised after reviewing the ministerial code that “was not an adequate form of divestment”. She said her husband had now sold the shares and she considers the matter “closed”.
On Tuesday the opposition revisited the topic, prompting Albanese to back McBain. The prime minister said she had “acted immediately … to address the circumstances”.
“The minister has been upfront about the situation at all times … There’s been no conflict of interest.
“This is a minister of integrity, of honesty ... I stand by this minister.”
The government faces a further transparency fight in the Senate, where the Liberals and some crossbench senators want to disallow superannuation fund rules that allow non-political donations to be disclosed in aggregate before funds’ annual general meeting.
Assistant treasurer, Stephen Jones, has said the new rules “strike the right balance between reducing the regulatory burden on funds and public expectations of transparency”.
But the crossbench disagreed, with Pocock giving notice on Tuesday of a push to scrap the changes:
This is the disallowance David Pocock is moving to scrap Labor's new super rules the crossbench say waters down transparency including of non political donations. #auspol pic.twitter.com/tbEH3vqbAI
— Paul Karp (@Paul_Karp) September 6, 2022
Liberal senator Andrew Bragg welcomed Pocock’s disallowance motion to stop “the anti-transparency superannuation regulations”.
“These regulations will conceal $35m in superannuation payments to unions by 2030 based on AEC data,” he said.
“The transparency of super fund expenditure, particularly to political or semi-political organisations, must be beyond reproach.”
Greens senator Nick McKim said his party, which holds the casting votes on the question, is “not going to support a disallowance motion this sitting fortnight”.
“We’re in discussion with the government about developing a more meaningful and useful transparency regime for the entire superannuation sector.”
On Monday, senator Jacqui Lambie said she was “not keen on watered down transparency”.
“At the end of the day it’s up to Labor to explain why they think funds should be able to hide information from their members and the public. I don’t see a case for the change.”
