MP's Patronage Club Receives Significant Public Funding
Liberal MP Andrew Hastie, who serves as patron for the exclusive Port Bouvard Pistol and Small Bore Rifle Club in his Western Australian electorate of Canning, has seen the organisation receive nearly £20,000 in government grants across three separate awards. The club, situated in Dawesville, maintains restrictive membership conditions and charges annual fees exceeding £1,500 while boasting over 300 active members.
Declaration of Interest Revealed Through FOI
Documents obtained by Guardian Australia through freedom of information laws reveal that Mr Hastie formally declared a conflict of interest regarding the pistol club, where he has competed on at least two occasions. The disclosure emerged within documentation from the Stronger Communities grant programme, which allocates £150,000 to each MP for small capital projects within their constituencies.
The grants awarded to the Port Bouvard club required direct involvement from Mr Hastie's office, with each programme demanding either nomination or invitation from the local MP before departmental assessment. This follows a previous £20,000 Stronger Communities grant allocated to the club in 2020 for electrical work, bringing the total received through Mr Hastie's involvement to nearly £40,000.
Multiple Grants Awarded Within Short Timeframe
In November 2021, the club received £5,000 under the Powering Communities programme for solar panel installation. Department guidelines required MPs to personally identify potential applicants and projects before inviting submissions.
Merely three months later, the club secured an additional £4,350 through the Stronger Communities programme for renovating entrance doorways to "improve usability and accessibility" and encourage community participation. Most recently, the organisation received a volunteer grant following nomination from Mr Hastie's office after community committee consultation.
A spokesperson for Mr Hastie stated: "Grant recipients are chosen through an independent process not involving Mr Hastie, who has declared he is a patron of the club since 2018, as per the grant guidelines."
Broader Pattern of MP Declarations Emerges
The released documents indicate approximately 30 MPs declared potential conflicts of interest during the most recent Stronger Communities programme round, with many listing themselves as patrons of successful clubs. Only three applications were deemed ineligible, including one from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for the Property Trust of the Anglican Church Diocese of Sydney.
Mr Albanese had declared a conflict regarding the diocese, which served as landlord for his Marrickville electorate office before its closure following repeated protests. The department confirmed the conflict declaration didn't influence the grant's ineligibility.
The Department of Infrastructure couldn't specify why the rejected grants, including applications from Labor MPs Zaneta Mascarenhas and Anne Stanley, were deemed ineligible, though both involved declared conflicts with their respective organisations.
