Tasmanian Liberal MPs were patrons or members of at least seven organisations that received grants from an "opaque" taxpayer-funded scheme, the ABC can reveal.
Earlier this week it was revealed a taxpayer-funded grant announced by Liberal candidate Madeleine Ogilvie during the 2021 Tasmanian state election campaign funnelled $150,000 into the rowing club where her daughter was a member.
The grant came from the Liberals' Local Communities Facilities Fund — a controversial grants program that was also an election promise, with recipients decided by an internal Liberal Party policy team, rather than a publicly accountable body.
In response to a request from the ABC, the government provided a list of the successful recipients of grants under the $15 million fund, which the Liberal Party used to make election promises.
Analysis of the projects on the list against the register of members' interests lodged with state parliament shows Premier Jeremy Rockliff is a patron of the Ulverstone Soccer Club, which received a $185,000 grant for new clubrooms.
Education Minister Roger Jaensch is a member of the Emu Valley Rhododendron Gardens which received $61,273 for irrigation, and he is a patron of the Cradle Coast Outrigger Canoe Club, which received $78,000 for three new canoes.
Attorney-General Elise Archer is a patron of the Glenorchy Cricket Club, which scored $20,000, and the Hobart Football Club, which received a grant of $50,000.
Resources Minister Guy Barnett is a patron of the Deloraine Bowls Club, to which the Liberals committed $25,000.
The Bracknell Football Club, of which Speaker Mark Shelton is a life member, received $45,000.
Mr Shelton's interest disclosure does not list the membership.
The Liberal government has said individual grants were initially capped at $150,000, but larger projects were considered when the allocation was not exhausted.
One grant on the list was worth six times that amount: $1 million for the Launceston City Football Club.
Two other grants were worth $500,000, including one to the Cradle Coast Authority, where Minister Jaensch was chief executive prior to his election in 2014.
'Appalling' lack of transparency
The Centre for Public Integrity's Geoffrey Watson — who has previously served as counsel assisting in the New South Wales ICAC — said the distribution of Tasmanian public money in this way showed a disregard for the public interest.
"Whenever there is a conflict of interest, it almost certainly means that the money should not be allocated in that way," he said.
Mr Watson said allocation of money through programs such as the Local Communities Facilities Fund should be done by independent bureaucrats, through a properly established scheme.
"The idea that money could be allocated by people who are associated with a political party is just offensive to the notion of the proper allocation of public funds," Mr Watson said.
"It's ridiculous to think the Tasmanian public could have any confidence in the way this was allocated.
Earlier this year, Tasmania's Integrity Commission released a report raising questions over the Liberals' use of grants funding in the 2018 state election.
That report was developed after a two-year Integrity Commission investigation had to be discontinued.
The investigation did not identify any misconduct or corruption.
A "loophole" in Tasmania laws means the integrity watchdog has no power to investigate elected members once a state election campaign is underway.
Meanwhile, a government spokesman said the grants were election promises made by the Liberal Party, rather than commitments made by the government, but the promises were met after the election.
"We do not believe the community would not expect organisations to be ineligible for funding requests during an election campaign simply because a candidate is a patron of that organisation," the spokesman said.
