A spokesman for the Regional Development Minister Fiona Nash said their analysis showed $19 million went to Queensland Labor electorates and $35 million went to NSW Labor electorates. Nationals deputy leader Fiona Nash said that up until the 2013 election, Labor awarded $141 million to its own seats, while handing $30 million to Coalition seats. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen "This pathetic lie was invented by Labor this weekend to create a headline it could ask questions about in Senate Question Time this week," he said. "Labor's Community Infrastructure Grants Fund put $30 million into Coalition seats and $141 million into Labor seats. Labor sent five times as much money into Labor seats." According to figures obtained by Labor, Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce's northern NSW seat of New England, which could be heading for a byelection if the High Court rules against his eligibility as an MP on citizenship grounds, received 13 per cent of the state's entire community grant income up until the 2016 election.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's blue ribbon seat of Wentworth received up to $12 million in community grants, 9 per cent of the state's allocation, while having the second highest score of socio-economic advantage in the country according to the Parliamentary Library's electorate index. Labor's Stephen Jones accused the Coaltion of taking ''regional rorts to a whole new level''. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen The seat with the highest level of socio-economic advantage in Australia, North Sydney, received $9.5 million in grants in the lead up to the election, the fifth highest level in the state, compared with the safe Labor seat of Parramatta, which received only $11,000 despite being among the most disadvantaged areas according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The grants are designed to target grassroots organisations, securing the support of local voters without expensive policy announcements. Among those to benefit was the Walcha Rugby Club in Mr Joyce's electorate, which received a $10,000 grant, while his deputy, Fiona Nash, spent $600,000 on 12 netball courts in Forbes.

The Queensland Liberal seat of Leichhardt received $40 million while Capricornia banked $20 million. The closest Labor-held seat, Blair, received $435,087. In Victoria, for which a full state breakdown is not available, the Turnbull government gave the marginal Liberal-held seat of Latrobe $6.5 million to restore the historic Puffing Billy steam train line. "This takes regional rorts to a whole new level; there's simply no way community projects in government electorates are 135 times more deserving than those in Labor electorates," Labor regional services spokesman Stephen Jones said. "This program is supposed to be about the long-term viability of local communities. Clearly it's been about the long-term viability of the Turnbull government and its senior members." The Nationals spokesman said at least $18.9 million from the Community Infrastructure Grants Fund went to Labor electorates in Queensland, not $1 million.

In NSW, at least $35.9 million went to Labor electorates, not $3.5 million, he said. The practice of funding election promises in marginal seats, known as pork-barrelling, is not unique to the Coalition government. When Labor was in power it called them community infrastructure grants. Up until the 2013 election, Labor awarded $141 million to its own seats, while handing $30 million to Coalition seats.

"Labor gave nearly five times as much money to Labor seats as it did to Coalition seats," said Minister for Regional Development Fiona Nash said. "They need to respect the intelligence of the voters. Their hypocrisy is disgraceful."