Pork-barrelling should be banned and grant process overhauled, report for Icac says

A report commissioned by the New South Wales Independent Commission Against Corruption has called for pork-barrelling to be prohibited and instead grants should be made strictly on merit after assessments against clear criteria.

The report, by the University of Sydney constitutional law expert Prof Anne Twomey, says a major overhaul of the way government makes grants is needed to ensure they are awarded on merit and are no longer used for pork-barrelling in marginal seats.

She argues politicians would be free to advocate for projects in their electorates or to promise broad funding schemes but should not be permitted to promise funding for particular projects during elections.

Twomey will present her report at a forum organised by Icac on Friday.

State and federal governments have been wracked by scandals involving multimillion-dollar grant schemes, which had been directed by the responsible minister towards marginal seats just before elections.

The former premier Gladys Berejiklian was grilled during a recent public inquiry about two multimillion-dollar grants in the seat held by her then secret boyfriend, the Wagga Wagga MP Daryl Maguire.

The inquiry heard evidence that Maguire had consistently lobbied for the grants over several years, and that they were ultimately signed off by Berejiklian despite concerns from within the public sector. Berejiklian has denied any wrongdoing.

Geoffrey Watson from the Centre for Public Integrity said he would like to see the term pork-barrelling dropped from public discourse.

Watson said the federal Labor government had introduced a system where ministers were meant to report on when they deviated from recommendations of their department on grant making but the system had fallen into disuse.

The forum, to be hosted by the Icac chief commissioner, Peter Hall QC, will discuss when pork-barrelling is unlawful and the ethical issues surrounding it. It will also look at when it could constitute corrupt conduct.

It will also look at whether ministerial discretionary power in relation to grant funding is at large, or whether it is subject to constraints and conditions by operation of the rule of law and, if so, the circumstances in which constraints or conditions exist or operate.

Following the forum, Icac will prepare and issue a report setting out its views on pork-barrelling, including whether and how it relates to corrupt conduct.