The guidelines of government’s Stronger Communities scheme say MPs and applicants must avoid conflicts of interest

This article is more than 6 months old

This article is more than 6 months old

Tens of thousands of dollars in grant money was handed to a gun club and a church with links to federal government MPs.

The Stronger Communities grant scheme awarded more than $40,000 total to the Port Bouvard Pistol and Small Bore Rifle Club and the Clovercrest Baptist Church, which have links to Liberals.

The Stronger Communities program gives local MPs a gatekeeper-type role in the application process. Only organisations that have been formally invited by MPs are eligible for a grant.

MPs are also responsible for setting up local community consultation committees, which assess the merits of the applications.

The scheme’s guidelines contain rules requiring MPs and applicants to take steps to avoid conflicts of interest, including disclosing “any professional, commercial or personal relationship with a party who is able to influence the application selection process”.

The Port Bouvard gun club boasts Andrew Hastie, the Liberal MP for Canning, as its patron. Hastie has competed there at least twice at invitational events.

The club, located in Mandurah, south of Perth, received the maximum possible grant of $20,000 in late 2018.

Hastie’s office said he went to great lengths to ensure he properly declared his association with the club, removed himself from any deliberations and avoided any perceived conflict.

A spokesman for Hastie told Guardian Australia that he provided notification to all eligible organisations of the coming grant opportunity, including the pistol club, and provided formal invites through the local media and on his website.

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Both Hastie’s office and the gun club say the MP provided no other individual support to the club during the process. Hastie also said he declared his association with the club to the community consultation committee before their assessment of applications and to the department.

“Mr Hastie removed himself from the deliberative process and made his association with the club publicly known,” the spokesman said. “Mr Hastie stands by the Port Bouvard Pistol and Small Bore Rifle Club, who provide a valuable social and recreational outlet for members of the Mandurah community.

“As a lifelong shooter, his association with the club as a patron is based on a shared passion for the sport.”

After the grant was awarded, Hastie posted on Facebook celebrating the grant, saying it was rewarding to help clubs who would have been “otherwise overlooked”.

“Some of the best moments in politics are finding ways to help local organisations that might otherwise be overlooked,” he said

The Stronger Communities program also awarded two grants of $14,300 and $11,550 to the Clovercrest Baptist Church in South Australia.

Liberal senator David Fawcett is a member of the church, was previously on its council and has recently hosted events with its lead pastor.

As a senator, he has no role in the grants program, and Fawcett’s office told the Guardian he was not even aware the church had applied for the two grants.

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“Senator Fawcett was not advised that these grants had been applied for by the church and consequently played no role in their application nor provided any other support,” a spokesman said. “The senator’s office was approached by the church for a letter of support for one other grant application, however Senator Fawcett recused himself on the grounds that he was a long-term member of the organisation.”

The program also awarded $10,000 to the Malvern Bowling Club, which sits in the federal electorate of Higgins, in late 2018 for a toilet upgrade.

The club was associated with the then-MP for Higgins, Kelly O’Dwyer, who listed it on her register of interests. The club said she provided no support to it during the application process and was neither a member or its patron.

The Midland Junction Poultry Society also received $7,500 through the scheme. Porter still lists himself as a patron of the society, but the Guardian understands the listing is no longer accurate. The society said Porter was not its patron and had no role in the grant process. The society is no longer based in Porter’s electorate.

There is no suggestion that any of the clubs awarded money were ineligible or that they acted improperly.

Previously, the Guardian has reported that Stronger Communities grants were awarded to a bowls club linked to Liberal MP Stuart Robert, and four clubs associated with Ben Morton, the assistant minister to the prime minister.

Video has also previously emerged of a member of Scott Morrison’s electorate staff being lauded for helping Cronulla Sailing Club win an $8,400 grant through the same program.

A cluster of evangelical churches with strong links to Western Australian Liberals also won almost $40,000 in grants through the scheme.