Sponsor speech Supports
Helen Haines
Haines strongly supports the bill and wants it passed because she says it would curb pork-barrelling by making grants and investment mandates more transparent, fair and accountable.
Read in Hansard ↗Accountability of Grants, Investment Mandates and Use of Public Resources Amendment (End Pork Barrelling)
Current status
This bill did not become law and is no longer proceeding.
Policy area
Government & democracy
What does this bill do?
All Commonwealth grant programs, including those run by corporate Commonwealth entitiesA Commonwealth body that is separate from a department and can run its own programs, including some grant programs., would have to follow the federal grants rules instead of some bodies being outside them.
Why was it introduced?
Weak grant rules left some Commonwealth entities outside the guidelinesThe grant-making rules and guidance that Commonwealth bodies are supposed to follow when they run grant programs. and let ministers approve grants in their own electorates or against advice without timely public scrutiny. The bill expands the rules to all Commonwealth grant programs, requires merit criteriaThe published criteria used to decide which grant applications should win, based on the stated purpose of the program. and clear guidelinesThe grant-making rules and guidance that Commonwealth bodies are supposed to follow when they run grant programs., and adds public reporting and parliamentary oversight.
Broader context
Commonwealth grants were already governed by the PGPA ActThe main law that sets the framework for how Commonwealth money is managed and spent in this area., the PGPA RuleThe delegated rules made under the main Act that set out practical requirements for grants administration. and the Commonwealth Grants Rules and GuidelinesThe grant-making rules and guidance that Commonwealth bodies are supposed to follow when they run grant programs., but those settings left some corporate Commonwealth entitiesA Commonwealth body that is separate from a department and can run its own programs, including some grant programs. outside the guidelinesThe grant-making rules and guidance that Commonwealth bodies are supposed to follow when they run grant programs. and allowed ministers to back grants in their own electorates or against official advice without timely public scrutiny. Helen Haines introduced this bill in February 2024 to force all Commonwealth grant programs to use merit criteriaThe published criteria used to decide which grant applications should win, based on the stated purpose of the program., published guidelinesThe grant-making rules and guidance that Commonwealth bodies are supposed to follow when they run grant programs. and stronger parliamentary reporting, but it did not progress and was removed from the Notice PaperThe parliamentary list of business to be dealt with; if a bill is removed from it, the bill is no longer progressing. in September 2024.
Key criticism
No significant public case against the bill is recorded so far, and the main debate presented it as a response to pork-barrelling rather than a source of new policy harm. in publicly available sources available here, speakers supported the bill and no party represented in the debate was shown arguing against it or raising substantial implementation reservations.
Who supported it?
Helen Haines MP introduced this bill. Speeches supporting it came from some crossbench members.
Introduced in House 26 Feb 2024
Failed in House 10 Sept 2024
Did not reach Senate —
Did not become law —
Did it become law?
No
The bill did not complete passage through Parliament.
Final passage
No final passage
The bill has not completed passage and is no longer proceeding.
Time before failure
197 days
From introduction to the final recorded step before the bill stopped proceeding
Meaning
What does this bill do?
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All Commonwealth grant programs, including those run by corporate Commonwealth entitiesA Commonwealth body that is separate from a department and can run its own programs, including some grant programs., would have to follow the federal grants rules instead of some bodies being outside them.
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Federal grant programs would need merit-based selection criteriaThe published criteria used to decide which grant applications should win, based on the stated purpose of the program. and clear guidelinesThe grant-making rules and guidance that Commonwealth bodies are supposed to follow when they run grant programs., so applicants can see how decisions are meant to be made.
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Parliament would get stronger scrutiny of grants through new reporting duties and a new Joint Parliamentary Committee on Grants Administration and Investment Mandates.
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Ministers would have to publicly explain grants they approve in their own electorate or against departmental adviceThe formal advice public servants give ministers before a grant decision is made., making political override decisions easier to spot.
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Ministers would have to report to Parliament each year on whether investment directions for public funds were followed, and those directions could be disallowed by Parliament.
Show source excerpts
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removing the exclusion of the Guidelines’ application to CCEs.
Accountability of Grants, Investment Mandates and Use of Public Resources Amendment (End Pork Barrelling) explanatory memorandum -
strengthening the requirements for probity by requiring all Commonwealth grant programs to have merit-based selection criteria and clear program guidelines.
Accountability of Grants, Investment Mandates and Use of Public Resources Amendment (End Pork Barrelling) explanatory memorandum -
improving Parliamentary oversight of grant administration, guidelines, selection criteria and approval processes by imposing multiple reporting obligations to Parliament and a new Joint Parliamentary Committee on Grants Administration and Investment Mandates.
Accountability of Grants, Investment Mandates and Use of Public Resources Amendment (End Pork Barrelling) explanatory memorandum -
This includes reporting requirements when a Minister decides to award a grant contrary to advice of the relevant official or in their own electorate.
Accountability of Grants, Investment Mandates and Use of Public Resources Amendment (End Pork Barrelling) explanatory memorandum -
improving oversight of Investment Mandates by requiring the relevant Minister to table annual reports in Parliament about how the Investment Mandate has been complied with. The Bill also makes Investment Mandates disallowable instruments, to improve Parliamentary oversight.
Accountability of Grants, Investment Mandates and Use of Public Resources Amendment (End Pork Barrelling) explanatory memorandum
Context
Broader context for this bill
Commonwealth grants were already governed by the PGPA ActThe main law that sets the framework for how Commonwealth money is managed and spent in this area., the PGPA RuleThe delegated rules made under the main Act that set out practical requirements for grants administration. and the Commonwealth Grants Rules and GuidelinesThe grant-making rules and guidance that Commonwealth bodies are supposed to follow when they run grant programs., but those settings left some corporate Commonwealth entitiesA Commonwealth body that is separate from a department and can run its own programs, including some grant programs. outside the guidelinesThe grant-making rules and guidance that Commonwealth bodies are supposed to follow when they run grant programs. and allowed ministers to back grants in their own electorates or against official advice without timely public scrutiny. Helen Haines introduced this bill in February 2024 to force all Commonwealth grant programs to use merit criteriaThe published criteria used to decide which grant applications should win, based on the stated purpose of the program., published guidelinesThe grant-making rules and guidance that Commonwealth bodies are supposed to follow when they run grant programs. and stronger parliamentary reporting, but it did not progress and was removed from the Notice PaperThe parliamentary list of business to be dealt with; if a bill is removed from it, the bill is no longer progressing. in September 2024.
- 2013
Parliament sets the main law for Commonwealth spending
The Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013The main law that sets the framework for how Commonwealth money is managed and spent in this area. created the main statutory framework for how Commonwealth public money, including grants, is governed.
Explanatory memorandum ↗ - 2014
Grant administration rules are placed in delegated legislation
The explanatory memorandum says the PGPA ActThe main law that sets the framework for how Commonwealth money is managed and spent in this area. then operated alongside the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Rule 2014The delegated rules made under the main Act that set out practical requirements for grants administration., putting important grant administration settings into legislative instruments rather than the Act itself.
Explanatory memorandum ↗ - 2017
Commonwealth grant guidelinesThe grant-making rules and guidance that Commonwealth bodies are supposed to follow when they run grant programs. begin but do not cover every program
The Commonwealth Grants Rules and Guidelines 2017The grant-making rules and guidance that Commonwealth bodies are supposed to follow when they run grant programs. were put in place, but the bill's explanatory memorandum says they often did not apply to corporate Commonwealth entitiesA Commonwealth body that is separate from a department and can run its own programs, including some grant programs. and not every payment that looked like a grant counted as one under the guidelinesThe grant-making rules and guidance that Commonwealth bodies are supposed to follow when they run grant programs..
Explanatory memorandum ↗ - 26 Feb 2024
Helen Haines introduces the End Pork Barrelling bill
Haines presented the bill as a response to pork barrelling and weak transparency, arguing taxpayers should be able to see when ministers override advice or direct money for political gain.
Hansard ↗ - 26 Feb 2024
Bill proposes merit rules and stronger parliamentary scrutiny for grants
According to the explanatory memorandum, the bill would extend the grants rules across all Commonwealth grant programs, require published selection criteria and create new reporting and committee oversight for grants and investment mandates.
Explanatory memorandum ↗ - 10 Sept 2024
Bill is removed from the Notice PaperThe parliamentary list of business to be dealt with; if a bill is removed from it, the bill is no longer progressing.
The parliamentary record shows the bill was removed from the Notice PaperThe parliamentary list of business to be dealt with; if a bill is removed from it, the bill is no longer progressing. under standing order 42, ending its active progress without the proposed tighter grants regime being enacted.
Parliamentary timeline ↗
Legislative route
How did it move through Parliament?
House Senate
Introduced 26 Feb 2024
The bill was formally presented to the chamber and read a first time, which starts its parliamentary journey.
Introduced and read a first time
Second reading opened 26 Feb 2024
A minister or sponsoring member moved the second reading, opening the main debate on the bill's purpose and principles.
Second reading moved
Scrutiny of Bills review 20 Mar 2024
The scrutiny committee recorded that it considered the bill in Scrutiny Digest 4 of 2024.
Considered
Collected source bundleRemoved from the Notice PaperThe parliamentary list of business to be dealt with; if a bill is removed from it, the bill is no longer progressing. in accordance with (SO 42) 10 Sept 2024
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
Key criticism
The main case against this bill
No significant public case against the bill is recorded so far, and the main debate presented it as a response to pork-barrelling rather than a source of new policy harm. in publicly available sources available here, speakers supported the bill and no party represented in the debate was shown arguing against it or raising substantial implementation reservations.
No significant public case against the bill is recorded so far.
Votes
Recorded votes
No recorded votes were found before this bill stopped proceeding.
Parliamentary debate
Who spoke, and what they said
Start here — lead voices
Lead non-major voice Supports
Monique Ryan
Ryan supports the bill and says pork-barrelling wastes public money, reduces spending on services like education, housing and health, and corrodes trust in government.
Read in Hansard ↗All speeches by bloc
Minor parties and independents
2 speakers · 3 contributions · 2 support
Minor parties and independents
2 speakers · 3 contributions · 2 support
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Helen Haines ★ 2 contributions Haines strongly supports the bill and says it is needed to stop pork-barrelling by putting fair, transparent rules around public spending.
Hansard records 2 separate contributions by Helen Haines, including an amendment-moving contribution. They are grouped here so the speaker is listed once.
Moved amendment
Haines strongly supports the bill and wants it passed because she says it would curb pork-barrelling by making grants and investment mandates more transparent, fair and accountable. She argues the government’s current reforms do not go far enough and need legislative teeth and parliamentary oversight.
“So now I call on all members in this place—from all political parties—to back me in these reforms. Don't turn a blind eye or a deaf ear to my efforts to end pork-barrelling just because it's something that everyone does. We—as elected members to this place—should and could be so much better than that.”
Read this contribution in Hansard ↗Moved amendment
Haines strongly supports the bill and says it is needed to stop pork-barrelling by putting fair, transparent rules around public spending. She argues the government has only tinkered at the edges and that invite-only grant programs show why stronger legislation is overdue.
“That is why this bill is more than overdue, and I commend it to the House.”
Read this contribution in Hansard ↗ -
Monique Ryan ★ Ryan supports the bill and says pork-barrelling wastes public money, reduces spending on services like education, housing and health, and corrodes trust in government.
“I thank the member for Indi for bringing us this important private member's bill, and I commend it to the House on behalf of the voters of Kooyong, who've had enough of government graft and dishonesty.”
Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
Record
Full record
- Status
- Not Proceeding -- Collected from the APH bill page.
- Originating house
- House of Representatives
- 26 Feb 2024
House · Introduced and read a first time
Introduced
The bill was formally presented to the chamber and read a first time, which starts its parliamentary journey.
- 26 Feb 2024
House · Second reading moved
Second reading opened
A minister or sponsoring member moved the second reading, opening the main debate on the bill's purpose and principles.
- 10 Sept 2024
House · Removed from the Notice Paper in accordance with (SO 42)
Removed from the Notice PaperThe parliamentary list of business to be dealt with; if a bill is removed from it, the bill is no longer progressing. in accordance with (SO 42)
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills
Considered
The scrutiny committee recorded that it considered the bill in Scrutiny Digest 4 of 2024.
Considered by scrutiny committee (20 Mar 2024): Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills; Scrutiny Digest 4 of 2024
Collected source bundle