Members of a Brisbane men's shed say they are "gutted" after a $1.5 million federal grant committed for an upgrade was instead given to Brisbane City Council.
The reallocation was instigated by LNP MP Julian Simmonds and local LNP councillor Greg Adermann, without consulting Brisbane's Lord Mayor, Adrian Schrinner.
Before the 2019 election, Mr Simmonds had pledged the funding for a community hub at council-owned facilities at 98 Brookfield Road, currently leased by Kenmore Men's Shed, a bridge club, and an e-waste charity.
Six months after the election, Kenmore Men's Shed — known as ShedWest — unexpectedly received a letter from then deputy prime minister Michael McCormack committing "up to $1.5 million for the Kenmore Men's Shed Upgrade project".
ShedWest president Mike Symes said they had not sought the funds from the invitation-only Community Development Grants Program and had no warning they would be nominated to receive the money.
Describing the federal government's commitment as a "pleasant surprise", Mr Symes said ShedWest compiled a comprehensive brief on their long-held renovation plans, working for months with the federal Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications to negotiate the deed of agreement for the $1.5 million.
'Alternative proposal' supported
But while preparing to sign on the dotted line, Mr Symes said ShedWest concluded the site at 98 Brookfield Road was unsuitable for redevelopment.
According to correspondence from federal government officials seen by ABC Radio Brisbane, ShedWest's unsigned agreement did not include the bridge club or e-waste charity and was not restricted to 98 Brookfield Road.
ShedWest decided to build a new facility at the Brookfield Showgrounds, confirming with federal officials that they could do so under the terms of the unsigned agreement.
But on the cusp of signing an updated agreement naming the Showgrounds site, Mr McCormack wrote to ShedWest saying he had "accepted Brisbane City Council's offer to manage the delivery of the Kenmore Men's Shed Upgrade project" at 98 Brookfield Road.
Mr Symes said the news came as a shock after ShedWest had spent nearly a year working on the agreement with the federal government.
"We followed every single one of the guidelines; we read every single paragraph, every single clause. We made sure that we complied fully with every single requirement of the grant."
Mr Schrinner has distanced himself from the reallocation, writing to ShedWest that the funds were requested by Pullenvale Ward Councillor Greg Adermann without consulting the Lord Mayor's office or council officers.
In a statement, Mr Adermann said he was "advised by the local federal member [Julian Simmonds] that he believed all council leaseholders at this location should benefit from these funds".
"It is common practice for council to manage projects at its own facilities so as the local councillor, I advocated in a letter for this to occur and agreed all leaseholders should benefit," Mr Adermann said.
Mr Simmonds said the $1.5 million was made available to Brisbane City Council as "part of my plan to deliver for our community groups" at 98 Brookfield Road, to ensure "all tenants on site" had extra space.
"I note the alternative application to access the funding, received from Mens ShedWest, and commend them for their efforts," he said in a statement.
"However, their alternative proposal was for a different site that only catered for the needs of one user and not the other two worthy tenants as well.
Council confusion
Documents obtained by the ABC show confusion at Brisbane City Council over who had requested the $1.5 million be transferred to council.
While Mr McCormack's letter said the council had "offered", Mr Schrinner later wrote to ShedWest that the federal government had requested the council apply for the money.
Mr Adermann wrote to Mr Simmonds in July 2020, asking for the grant to be given to council specifically for 98 Brookfield Road.
"The federal government's $1.5 million grant, which you secured, together with what I hope to obtain from council, will go a long way to assist in the upgrading of existing facilities on this site," Mr Adermann wrote.
In a recent letter to ShedWest, Mr Schrinner said council had contacted the federal infrastructure department "to understand the source of the claim that council had 'offered' to undertake this project".
"A letter has since been provided between the local councillor and federal member, which appears to be the source upon which the federal government has relied on in relation to offering this funding to council," Mr Schrinner wrote.
The council is now seeking a total of $5 million in federal funds to redevelop 98 Brookfield Road.
'Nothing has happened'
A council spokesperson said the funding "was a matter for the federal government" and no money had yet been received.
The federal Department of Infrastructure said the government was working with the council to finalise a funding agreement to deliver a new Kenmore Men's Shed.
"In the course of negotiating delivery of this commitment, Brisbane City Council and the Australian government agreed that council would take over as the proponent, as council is better placed to deliver the project scope and achieve the desired outcomes within the requirements of the program guidelines," a spokesperson said.
ShedWest committee member Gerald Barber said if the $1.5 million grant had not been reallocated, construction on their new facility at the showgrounds would be well underway, three years after the grant was first offered to ShedWest.
"[It] has deprived the community in the area of a new facility, because nothing has happened," he said.
