Peter Dutton's office fast-tracked one-off grant proposal days after donation given to support him
Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton's office fast-tracked a one-off $880,000 grant proposal to a retail association eight days after it made a $1,500 political donation to the Queensland Liberal National Party — at an event Mr Dutton attended — for the purpose of personally supporting him.
7.30 can reveal that Mr Dutton awarded a one-off "national security and criminal justice" grant to the Queensland-based National Retail Association, which represents employers in the retail and fast food industry.
The revelation is part of a cache of ministerial briefings obtained by 7.30 under freedom of information laws that set out Mr Dutton's awarding of grants from within a multi-million-dollar fund earmarked to support crime prevention efforts.
The grant was not awarded through any open or competitive grant scheme, but was awarded on a one-off basis by Mr Dutton. It appears Mr Dutton has only awarded a handful of one-off grants since he became Home Affairs Minister.
Legal experts have told 7.30 that Mr Dutton's consideration of the grant funding after the association donated to the Queensland LNP may give rise to a perceived conflict of interest, which could be considered a breach of Prime Minister Scott Morrison's ministerial standards.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-02-10/peter-dutton-office-fast-tracked-grant-proposal-after-donation/13126496
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