The Dodgies

Blind trust (2021)

• Part of Porter’s legal fees for a defamation action he took against the ABC had been paid from “a blind trust”⁶
• Porter doesn’t know who donated to the trust⁷
• Hidden money in politics is a huge problem for our democracy⁸

Commuter car park rorts (2019)

• Distributed $660 million for car park construction during the 2019 election in seats hand-picked based on advice from MPs and candidates⁹
• 77% of the car park sites selected were in Coalition electorates¹⁰
• An Inquiry found ​​a “marginal electorate list” had been the starting point for funding decisions¹¹

Public funds for political gain (2021)

• Had intimate knowledge of an alleged scheme using public resources to boost Sukkar’s factional power base¹²
• Sukkar’s best friend, younger brother and factional supporters were employed as part of the scheme¹³
• Sukkar denies branch stacking allegations, pointing to a Department report which he strongly argued to be kept secret¹⁴

Sports rorts (2020)

• Dished out the majority of $100 million of sports grants to marginal electorates just before the 2019 federal election¹⁵
• While sports clubs with decaying toilets and old tin shacks went without, a lavish rowing club in one of Sydney’s richest suburbs pocketed $500,000¹⁶
• A spreadsheet colour-coded by political parties was even used in decision-making¹⁷
• 73% of the projects approved were not recommended by Sport Australia¹⁸

Dodgy council documents (2019)

• Accused Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore of spending $15 million on climate-polluting travel based on falsified documents provided to the Daily Telegraph¹⁹
• Taylor has claimed he downloaded the documents from the City of Sydney council website but a preliminary police investigation could find no evidence that this was true²⁰
• Taylor was accused of misleading parliament over the saga²¹
• The origin of the documents has never been determined²²

Regional growth grants (2019)

• Oversaw $272 million in regional funding grants that favoured Coalition electorates in the lead up to the 2019 election²³
• 90% of the funding went to Coalition and marginal electorates²⁴
• Think the sports rorts scandal, but even bigger!

Publicly funded mining gala (2018)

• Spent $3,000 of public money to attend a luxury dinner celebrating the mining industry²⁵
• The publicly funded expenses included flights and private cars²⁶
• A headline speech was given by John Howard²⁷
• Abetz has no ministerial connection to mining and defended the trip as being in the interests of Tasmania²⁸

Great Barrier Reef grant (2018)

• Gave $443 million of Great Barrier Reef funding to an obscure foundation as Environment Minister²⁹
• The foundation had corporate connections to climate denial groups and fossil fuel companies³⁰
• No open, competitive tender was held for the controversial grant³¹
• The Foundation has failed to deliver on its promise to raise hundreds of millions of dollars to save the embattled reef³²

Water-gate buybacks scandal (2017)

• Approved an $80 million dollar deal to buy back water from a corporation formerly directed by Angus Taylor³³
• The money was transferred to a parent corporation in the Cayman Islands – a known tax haven³⁴
• The deal had no open tender process³⁵
• It was found to be bad value for public money³⁶
• The corporation declared a $52 million dollar profit³⁷

Handouts for Foxtel (2017)

• Oversaw a $30 million handout to Murdoch’s Fox Sports³⁸
• The funding was ostensibly for women’s sport, but was not attached to any guidelines or conditions³⁹
• The ABC has to pay Foxtel to show women’s sport, meaning the public pays twice⁴⁰
• Fifield was also asked to explain the gift of cufflinks he received from Foxtel later that year but refused to comment⁴¹

Au pair intervention (2015)

• Directly intervened to grant special tourist visas for two women working as au pairs⁴²
• One worked for a former colleague in the Queensland police force⁴³
• Reports and departmental emails suggest Dutton took extraordinary measures to overrule border security advice at a moment’s notice⁴⁴
• A Senate Inquiry was set up to investigate the circumstances of Dutton’s intervention, and found he misled Parliament⁴⁵