Prime Minister Scott Morrison says a desire to balance the federal budget drove a surprise decision to bestow $444 million in Great Barrier Reef funding to a private foundation, as emails emerge showing that department officials expressed relief they were not involved in the controversial grant.

Mr Morrison’s concession was leapt on by Labor, which said it shows the former treasurer is a poor economic manager and fiddled with the national accounts at the expense of the environment.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison, pictured on Monday with ministers Mathias Cormann and Michaelia Cash, has admitted handing $444 million to a private reef foundation without an open tender. Credit:AAP

The government has been under fire since April when it announced the grant of almost half a billion dollars to the Great Barrier Reef Foundation – a small, private charity with strong corporate links.

The government’s own science agencies were not consulted on the development of the policy, nor were they given the chance to apply for the funds, which were granted without a tender process. The money was subtracted from the national ledger and transferred to the bank accounts of the foundation before the end of last financial year, just weeks after the announcement.