Rudd Government Sports Rorts Exceeds $100m While Australian Elite Athletes Struggle

The Rudd Government pork barrelled its way into power by making $100m of sporting commitments in marginal seats whilst ignoring the needs of Australia’s athletes, Senator Cory Bernardi said today.

Senator Bernardi said that the Rudd Government promised at least 114 grants for sports and recreation facilities that amounted to over $100 million during the last election, yet has only committed $260 million to the entire national sports budget.

“Over the past five months we have witnessed a significant effort to hide the scale and substance of the Rudd Government’s election year pork barrelling,” Senator Bernardi said.

“Minister Ellis has been avoiding disclosure of the massive pork barrel she is administering as she knows that her government’s decision to buy votes rather than invest in our country’s sporting future will come at a huge cost to our national sporting performance.

“While countries such as Great Britain spend $1.06 billion on their elite athletes, their Australian counterparts are struggling to raise families whilst earning less than the average wage.

“According to the Australian Olympic Committee boss John Coates, Australia is under serious threat of dropping out of the top ten countries by 2016 because of the lack of funding elite sporting receives from the Government.

“Australian sports funding needs to be focused and disciplined, just like our Olympic athletes, not worked out on a whiteboard as a means to win marginal seats.

“Minister Ellis has already deferred a decision on elite sport funding levels which has caused a number of sporting organisations heartache and complication in their forward planning.

“In their first budget the Rudd Government and Minister Ellis have turned their backs on Australia’s sporting success to pay for their marginal seats sports rorts. Australia’s athletes deserve better.”