It’s a while since a government rort hit the headlines but there it is – $660.4 million for car parks, described by the National Audit Office this week as not open nor transparent, neither effective nor appropriate and, guess what, they bypassed the Infrastructure Department altogether.
The fearless auditors at the ANAO called it out
The distribution of projects selected reflected the geographic and political profile of those given the opportunity by the government to identify candidates for funding consideration.
Projects were picked after canvassing the views of 23 members of parliament and Coalition senators or candidates for six electorates then held by the Australian Labor Party or Centre Alliance.
77% of these commuter carparks are to be built in Coalition-held seats, 10% in Labor electorates.
These 47 car parks avoided assessment against investment principles or policy objectives and there was no obvious assessment of merit. 64% are to be in Melbourne, 74% were announced in the caretaker period.
That’s about as bare-faced a rort as you can get.
Challenged on all of this, the Minister said
The Morrison government is getting on with delivering infrastructure projects that improve congestion and safety for commuters across Australia, making it easier for them to move around our capital cities and ensuring they get home quickly and safely
Photo: The New Daily