Churches win funding through program that allocates grants only to organisations formally invited by local federal MP

This article is more than 6 months old

This article is more than 6 months old

A cluster of evangelical churches with strong links to West Australian Liberals have won almost $40,000 in grants in the past four months through a federal scheme.

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The churches won funding through the Stronger Communities program, which allocates grants only to organisations that have been formally invited by the local federal MP.

The True North church, in Perth’s northern suburbs, was awarded $11,000 in November to upgrade its kitchen. The church sits in the federal division of Moore, held for the Liberals by Ian Goodenough.

Goodenough has separate ties to the church, and has posted about attending its Sunday services and his decade-long associations with its pastors.

He has previously confirmed that the church’s members had joined the Liberal party and were helping to “support me and the Liberal party”.

Goodenough told the Guardian he did not take part in deliberations about the grant.

“All of the applications received were assessed by an independent committee of community members, at a meeting which I did not attend,” he said. “The department then formally assesses eligibility and approves grants.”

A grant for $5,500 went to the evangelical One church, also in Perth’s outer northern suburbs, for new carpets. One of the church’s founding pastors is Trish Botha, who worked in Goodenough’s office until she left to run as a Senate candidate for the Liberals at last year’s federal election.

Members of One church were reportedly told during a Sunday service last year that Botha would represent “the desires of the church” at “the highest levels of government” if she were to be elected.

Botha was not elected. The grant was not awarded in Goodenough’s electorate, and there is no suggestion he had any direct influence over it.

A third grant of $22,000 was given to the Nations church in Perth, also an evangelical church, to construct a childcare space.

The church is linked to the West Australian senator Matt O’Sullivan, who lists Nations Church Inc on his register of interests.

A spokesman said the senator had no knowledge of the grant either being applied for or awarded. He said O’Sullivan did not hold any position or office within the church.

“Nations church is the Senator’s local church, he attends with his family and makes financial contributions from time to time – which have been appropriately declared,” the spokesman said.

The Guardian approached True North, One church and Nations church for comment, but none responded.

The power of evangelical Christian groups in the WA Liberal party has been a matter of growing internal concern in recent years, prompting warnings from the former premier Colin Barnett, state MPs, former party presidents, federal MPs and the former head of the WA Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Deidre Willmott, a Liberal party member.

In 2016 the former state Liberal MP Rob Johnson used parliament to accuse elements of the party of having “fallen under the spell of the religious cult Globalheart church”, a reference to a popular Perth evangelical church.

The Stronger Communities program has been the subject of much criticism in the wake of the Bridget McKenzie sports rorts affair.

The program gives significant power to local MPs to shape where money goes. Only those organisations invited by politicians are eligible, and the MP can also establish the community consultation committee that considers applications.

The department is only able to consider applications put forward by MPs and the committees.

The program’s rules compel MPs and applicants to declare conflicts of interest, including any “professional, commercial or personal relationship with a party who is able to influence the application selection process”.