Pork-barrelling – misusing public money for political gain – is common in Australia. This report argues that while pork-barrelling may be legally grey, it is not good government. It wastes taxpayers’ money, undermines public trust in Australia's political leaders and institutions, and promotes a corrupt culture.

The objective of the audit was to assess whether the award of funding under the Building Better Regions Fund was effective as well as being consistent with the Commonwealth Grant Rules and Guidelines.

Politicians are not supposed to spend public money to promote their private interest, including their private political advantage. This paper argues that avoiding such conflicts of interest would be more straightforward if the federal government stuck to its national role, and did its due diligence before spending public money.

This report finds that since its establishment in the 2018-19 Budget, the Urban Congestion Fund (UCF), and the Commuter Car Park Fund (CCPF) as a program within the UCF, have been administered without any proper administrative framework or oversight, and have been used as vehicles for the selection of projects which serve a political purpose...

This analysis, from the Australia Institute’s Democracy and Accountability Program, reveals that $3.9 billion spent by federal grants programs with ministerial discretion has clearly favoured marginal Coalition seats in particular, at the expense of safe Labor seats and, to a lesser extent, safe Coalition seats.