I move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) 15 January 2021 marks a year since the release of the Australian National Audit Office's report on the award of funding under the Community Sport Infrastructure Program,

(ii) evidence to the Senate Select Committee on Administration of Sports Grants shows that the Prime Minister and his office were intimately involved in and aware of decision making under the program, and

(iii) many deserving clubs, including in regional Australia, missed out on new community sport facilities, because they were not in marginal or targeted electorates; and

(b) calls on the Government to apologise to the clubs that missed out, and provide the funding they missed out on.

Can I please seek leave to split the motion into (a) and (b) separately?

You don't need leave. I will do that if you're voting differently on those two sections.

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Leave is granted for one minute.

The Australian government has a proud record of investing in community sport projects across Australia, including providing over $100 million for the Community Sport Infrastructure Grant Program, from which 684 projects have been funded. Two-thousand and fifty applications were submitted, requesting funds of $396 million, reflecting the high demand for this program.

Sport Australia and the government agreed with the four recommendations from the ANAO's review of the awarding of the program funding. Sport Australia has implemented the three recommendations directly relating to them. The Department of Finance is implementing one further recommendation.

As Senator Rice is the deputy chair of this inquiry into this matter it's unacceptable to move this motion before the inquiry has even finished. It demonstrates that this motion is all about politics.

The question is that paragraph (a) of motion No. 959 be agreed to.

The question now is that paragraph (b) of motion No. 959 be agreed to.