Labor duty senator for Lyne, Tony Sheldon, has accused the Morrison government of shortchanging local sporting clubs by skewing funding towards city seats in an effort to win the 2019 Federal election.
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"The Female Facilities and Water Safety Stream was designed to provide grants to fund female change facilities at sporting clubs in rural and regional areas to encourage greater female participation in sport," Mr Sheldon said.
"But less than 10 per cent of the $150 million fund was allocated to projects in rural and regional electorates like Lyne. Instead, the government splashed 80 per cent of the fund building swimming pools in marginal electorates in cities."
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Mr Sheldon said Lyne was one of the 12 Nationals-held electorates throughout Australia to miss out on funding, while Liberal-held non-rural seats received $110 million of the $150 million on offer.
"We know that many local sporting grounds could have done with improvements for their huge and growing number of women and girls playing the game, but once again this region has been forgotten by the Liberals and Nationals in government," he said.
"The Morrison-McCormack Government misused public money to prioritise its own political fortunes over a fair application process."
Mr Sheldon also took aim at local member, Dr David Gillespie, for failing to deliver for his constituents.
"David Gillespie and the Nationals don't have what it takes to get the government grants Lyne's communities need," he said.
The Manning River Times asked Dr Gillespie in January whether Lyne had been overlooked in Bridget McKenzie's controversial handling of the Community Sport Infrastructure Grant Program, but he believed it was not the case.
"It was a wonderfully successful program," he said.
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But Mr Sheldon claimed this latest controversy proved the Federal government was not looking after the needs of regional Australia.
"Every day we find a new rorted sport grant scheme," he said.
"Under this Liberal/National government regional communities have been forgotten again in favour of inner-city marginal electorates."
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