Prime Minister Scott Morrison claims millions of dollars in government grants to increase female participation in sport were never meant for regional areas.
The $150 million scheme designed to build female change rooms and upgrade community swimming pools was announced weeks before the federal election last year.
Mr Morrison has rejected criticism of a $10 million grant given to the iconic North Sydney Olympic Pool on Sydney Harbour, denying the grants were aimed solely for the regions.
"This is one of the bits of misinformation that are out there," Mr Morrison told 2GB radio.
"When I announced the program, I didn't say it was for regional areas, it was for areas right across the country.
"That was a piece of information that was provided incorrectly by the department, that it only applied to regional areas."
The Female Facilities and Water Safety Stream was created in March 2019 and announced by the Federal Government as a measure to support female participation in sport across the country.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison at Parliament House in Canberra. Source: AAP
But an incoming government brief states the fund’s stakeholders were for “regional and remote communities” with the aim to “remove barriers” through improving local facilities.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and local MP Trent Zimmerman announced the $10 million grant for the North Sydney pool upgrade in April 2019.
The grant has drawn criticism from those arguing the funds were meant to target rural and regional communities.
But Mr Zimmerman has previously said the program was “quite explicitly for projects across Australia” and “wasn’t just for regional areas.”
The independent mayor of North Sydney council, Jilly Gibson, told the ABC's 7:30 the pool was “definitely” a regional facility because people from all over NSW came to use the pool.
Member for North Sydney Trent Zimmerman. Source: AAP
When asked if it should be considered a regional facility, Energy Minister Angus Taylor has said “clearly “ North Sydney is in Sydney.
“There’s no doubt about that," he said.
The government also continues to face scrutiny over another grants program designed for local sporting clubs.
The auditor-general found a sports grants program funnelled money into projects in Coalition-targeted seats during the May election.
Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese said the government had spent months hiding information about the $100 million scheme.
"This is like pulling teeth," he told ABC radio on Wednesday.
Mr Albanese said the prime minister was "up to his neck" in the sports rorts affair and accused him of misleading parliament.
"I want him to actually treat the parliament seriously and to tell the truth and to say what the involvement of his office was," he said.
Mr Morrison has denied his office unduly influenced the process, and said his government would adopt the auditor-general's recommendations.
"The National Audit Office found that all the representations that were made by my office were no more effective than anyone else’s," he told the ABC.
