Pressure is mounting on the federal agriculture minister and Nationals deputy leader Bridget McKenzie to resign over her role in the allocation grant funds while she was the sports minister.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison revealed this morning that he had referred the matter to top public servant Philip Gaetjens to determine if the former sports minister breached ministerial standards in her handling of a $100 million grant program.
The move comes after the auditor-general found most of cash was spent in marginal seats ahead of the 2019 federal election.
It was also revealed that a sports club of which Senator McKenzie is a member, the Wangaratta Clay Target Club, received $36,000 under the grants program.
Senator McKenzie became the first female to be appointed a federal agriculture minister following the federal election in May 2019.
Despite mounting calls for her tor resign, Senator McKenzie is said to be standing firm.
"The minister is not resigning. She is actively engaging in the process and is confident there has not been a breach in ministerial standards," a spokeswoman told AAP.
Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese said Senator McKenzie should resign and called for better transparency about how the grant applications were processed.
"This abuse is rank. It stinks more than a bucket of prawn heads that you left out on a hot day like today. The stench goes all the way up to the government," he said.
"Bridget McKenzie needs to resign and there needs to be full transparency about which applications were successful, which applications weren't, where they ranked, what the process was behind this scandal."
