Labor's constitutional headache
The Albanese government is sitting on legal advice that raises concerns about the constitutionality of Commonwealth grant programs following the ‘sports rorts’ affair — and it refuses to talk about it.
Labor gained a lot of political mileage in opposition by campaigning against the Coalition’s management of grants, such as the $100 million sports program.
In government, it launched a “rorts and waste” audit as part of its pitch to bring integrity back to federal politics, which also included the establishment of the National Anti-Corruption Commission. But Capital Brief can reveal that the spending audit recently created a big problem.
We have been told by multiple sources that legal advice provided to the government has raised concerns about the constitutionality of the sports program. This puts the legality of a number of current programs — such as Investing in Our Communities and Priority Community Infrastructure — into question. Existing programs are one headache. But it’s a big challenge, too, for any additional grants Labor wants to give out heading into the election.
Asked whether she had seen this legal advice, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Catherine King’s office took more than 24 hours to refer us to Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus. Asked to confirm the existence of the legal advice, Dreyfus’ office said: “The government cannot comment on legal advice”. The government can, of course, choose to comment to clarify that such legal advice does not exist.
