I rise to shine a light on the government's shameful lack of transparency and accountability in the administration of federal grant funding. In July 2009 in a document titled Commonwealth grant guidelines this government set out a framework to efficiently, effectively and ethically administer grant funding. Specifically in section 3.2 the guidelines specify that when a minister makes a grant to their own electorate they are required to write to the finance minister. So what are we now meant to make of the Auditor-General's damning finding that the government's ministers have failed on 33 occasions to declare grants worth millions of dollars to their own electorates?

Order! The time for members’ statements has concluded.