Sports rorts on steroids: Coalition’s $4.8 billion Urban Congestion Fund
Part of the $4.8 billion federal Urban Congestion Fund program was used at the government’s discretion to fund projects mainly in Liberal-held or marginal seats at the 2019 election.
The federal government shut down a plan to award the money on merit.
Not one of the 47 commuter car park sites promised by the Coalition at the 2019 election was selected by the Infrastructure Department.
The department – which at the time was reporting to minister Paul Fletcher and then Alan Tudge in the lead-up to the election – decided there would be no formal call for submissions and projects would be identified and selected by the government.
Of the 23 federal seats selected for the projects, 15 were held by the Coalition and eight by Labor.
The funding was overwhelmingly allocated to Victoria – 38 per cent – followed by NSW, which received 16 per cent. The most successful electorates were Goldstein (six projects), Deakin (five projects), Kooyong (four projects) and Banks (four projects), all Coalition-held. Labor’s seat of Lindsay, a key marginal won by the Coalition, received three projects.
Pork ‘n ‘Ride — another election-winning rort for the Coalition
A 30-year veteran of the mainstream media, Liz was the editor of MWMuntil June 2021. Liz began her career in journalism in 1990 and worked at The Age newspaper for two 10-year stints. She also worked at The Guardian newspaper in London for more than seven years. A former professional tennis player who represented Australia in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, Liz has a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Letters (Hons).