Indigenous figure became Liberal candidate several months after $200,000 awarded for his TV show, Mundine Means Business

Warren Mundine received approval for government funding for a second season of his Sky News TV show before his application for the grant had been submitted, documents obtained by Guardian Australia reveal.

Mundine, a former president of the Australian Labor Party who became Scott Morrison’s pick for the seat of Gilmore at the 2019 federal election, had hosted two seasons of a Sky News TV series showcasing Indigenous businesses called Mundine Means Business.

The government was criticised in early 2019 when it was revealed that the show had been funded in part by the federal government as part of its Indigenous Advancement Strategy. The two series were funded, in part, by two contributions from the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet to Mundine’s business, Nyungga Black Group, totalling just over $300,000.

The first was part of a consultancy services package in 2017. The latter grant, worth $200,000, was awarded in mid-2018. The $200,000 made up 15% of total production costs for the show, according to the department.

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The second grant was awarded several months before Mundine became a Liberal candidate.

Documents obtained by Guardian Australia under Freedom of Information law reveal Mundine approached Nigel Scullion, then minister for indigenous affairs, directly for funding for the second season.

On 26 March, a staff member in Scullion’s office told department assistant secretaries Clare Sharp and Kirsti McQueen that Mundine “has approached the minister seeking another seasons’ worth of sponsorship (around $200K) for his TV show.”

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“Could you please get a brief up to us ASAP?”

An email dated 3 April 2018 from a staff member in the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet shows the department seeking to brief Scullion’s office “as soon as possible” about funding for the second season.

On 12 April, Elizabeth Henderson, chair advisory board for Nyungga Black Group, sent the department a costing brief on the proposed second season, which would consist of up to 24 episodes.

Mundine submitted the grant application on 31 May2018, but according to the grants website, the tender was approved on 11 May.

Can you see why people might find that just a little bit unacceptable in terms of use of public money? Jenny McAllister

A spokesperson for the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet told Guardian Australia that this was “standard practice”.

“The former Minister for Indigenous Affairs approved a direct approach to Nyungga Black Group on 11 May 2018, believing the organisation was best placed to deliver the services required,” the spokesperson said.

“They were then invited to submit an Indigenous Advancement Strategy grant application, which was submitted on 31 May 2018. This is standard practice for a direct approach.”

The government’s contribution was more than $200,000, but the full expected cost of the program was redacted from the documents released. Guardian Australia has appealed against the decision to withhold this information.

Ultimately, 16 episodes were produced, ending last September. The grant had been set to run until August 2019, but in March, the grant period was modified to have ended at the end of January.

The spokesperson said that Mundine had requested the date be brought forward.

“The project (activity) end date was amended to 31 January to reflect that all milestones had been delivered before that date,” the spokesperson said.

Mundine told Guardian Australia that the grant was not awarded prior to the submission of the application, and said the original end date was how long the grant allowed for the project to be delivered, but it was finalised in 2018.

“The contract provided by the department nominated a term for the grant,” he said.

“Essentially that was the maximum amount of time we had to complete the season and the deliverables. We produced a 16 episode season that concluded in late 2018. Since the season had concluded and the grant deliverables had been completed there was no need for the grant term to continue.”

In a Senate estimates hearing in February this year, Labor senator Jenny McAllister questioned Scullion why Mundine had received the funding.

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“What has actually taken place is that a person who was known to be very close to the Prime Minister, who is sitting on the Prime Minister’s Indigenous Advisory Council, receives a direct grant which no other person was able to apply for to develop a television program to raise his profile, and then that person nominates as a candidate for the Liberal Party,” she said.

“Can you see why people might find that just a little bit unacceptable in terms of use of public money?”

“No, I can’t at all,” Scullion replied.

“If you’re making a point about him being on the Indigenous Advisory Council, it’s not because he was close to the Prime Minister. It is because he is a high-profile, very articulate, very smart Aboriginal man providing leadership in this area. I don’t think anyone would deny that.”

Scullion said that the reason the show’s funding had become a topic of discussion was because Mundine had become a member of the Liberal Party after the show aired.