Liberals, Labor questioned over promises of money ahead of Tasmanian state election
ABCIn short: There have been accusations the Liberals and Labor are engaging in pork-barrelling by bribing electorates with community improvement grants during the Tasmanian election period. For the third election in a row, the Tasmanian Liberal Party comes under fire for its handling of taxpayer-funded community grants, with an integrity expert calling its actions "pork barrelling, plain and simple". He said the party had committed "the trifecta of flaws" — making promises during an election campaign, not being an open process that anyone can apply for, and a non-elected person making the announcement. 'Pork-barrelling' needs to stop, say Greens Tasmanian Greens candidate Vica Bayley accused the Liberals of committing "a shocking abuse of process", calling it an inappropriate way to allocate money. "No one can begrudge community groups putting up their hand for additional funding, but there needs to be a transparent, merit-based process whereby these decisions are made, not some unelected apparatchik in the Liberal Party who gets to make decisions about where public money is spent," he said.
History of this topic
Tasmanian election to focus on cost of living, health and housing, with minority government and stadium lurking in background
ABCTasmanian Liberals accused of 'electoral bribery' over taxpayer-funded election grants
ABCA week into the election campaign, the Tasmanian Liberal Party is already a man down
ABCDiscover Related
