The release of the full report into the "Sports Rorts" affair shows the need for a federal anti-corruption body that is public, the Wollongong lawyer who fought for the report to be made public has said.
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Michael Sergent, a former long-time Legal Aid lawyer, had fought for the release of the report under Freedom of Information laws.
It's the report of former head of the Prime Minister's department Phil Gaetjens, into whether ministerial standards were breached by Bridget McKenzie in the awarding of more than $100 million in sports grants, often against the recommendations of Sport Australia.
Mr Sergent said open government and transparency demanded the release of the report.
"The minister at the time allocated more than 100 million for sporting and other clubs prior to the 2019 federal election - that's a lot of taxpayers' money," he said.
"I think whenever a minister uses their discretion regarding such a large amount of money the public expects that money to be allocated very carefully.
"It's all about accountability and transparency, why I fought for the report.
"We need much greater scrutiny of allocation of money in situations like this, and therefore a federal ICAC is becoming more and more important."
Mr Gaetjens found Ms McKenzie's awarding of funds to the Wangaratta Clay Target Club, of which she was a member, was a conflict of interest, and a breach of standards.
He found there were "significant shortcomings in the process undertaken by the minister and her office that give rise to issues around the fairness and probity of that process".
This referred to how the minister's office took recommendations from the department then made its own decisions, without retaining documents that showed why.
Mr Gaetjens found "no evidence of the reasons" to support the decisions, and this contributed to community concern on the issue.
Ms McKenzie resigned as sports minister in the wake of the affair after the Auditor-General found the grants were skewed towards marginal seats.
Mr Gaetjens concluded the discretion to override recommendations was within the minister's power, and found "no basis for the suggestion that political considerations" were the primary factor in the decisions.
Mr Sergent said the report itself was flawed as its author was at the time an insider reporting to the Prime Minister.
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Ben Langford
Senior journalist writing on the environment. Opinion columnist, independent. We rely on your news tips so please, don't be shy to let us know what's going on.
Senior journalist writing on the environment. Opinion columnist, independent. We rely on your news tips so please, don't be shy to let us know what's going on.
