The first time the former chief of Sport Australia saw a colour-coded spreadsheet the sport minister's office had produced was when it was handed to her as she walked into a parliamentary grilling last year. Former sports minister Bridget McKenzie's office was criticised in an audit of a $100 million grants program overseen by Sport Australia for running a parallel assessment process biased towards coalition-held and target seats in the lead-up to the 2019 federal election. The auditor-general revealed the minister's office created dozens of versions of a spreadsheet between October 2018 and April 2019 that colour-coded grant applications according to which political party held the electorate they were from. Kate Palmer, who led Sport Australia until late January, told senators on Friday although she was aware the minister's office had its own assessment process, the first time she saw the colour-coded document was in April 2019 although she could not recall the exact date. She was so surprised by the colour coding that she called for a meeting with the secretary of the health department, which oversees Sport Australia, and her organisation's board chair that night. Health department officials later said that was likely on April 5, 2019. But the health department boss, Glenys Beauchamp, has destroyed all her records of that meeting because Friday is her last day as a public servant. "I saw a coloured spreadsheet put under my face just as I was entering Senate estimates - that's the only spreadsheet I saw," Ms Palmer told the inquiry into the affair. "I did not read the spreadsheet, I just ... glanced at it and then stood up and walked into Senate estimates." After that April hearing, she discussed with Ms Beauchamp and Sport Australia chair John Wylie the fact she had seen the spreadsheet and what should be done about it. Sport Australia then provided that spreadsheet to the auditors, who had already begun examining the program. Ms Beauchamp described the phone hook-up with Ms Palmer and Mr Wylie as an "ad hoc meeting". She agreed she would have taken notes but asked where they were, replied: "It's interesting you should say that because it's my last day in the public service and I have destroyed all of my notebooks and notes." Senators were incredulous at the news. Ms Beauchamp said it was her practice to make "scratchings ... of things that I might have to follow up on" and translate anything that needed to be put on the official record into email or discussions with colleagues. "I should not have notebooks and things as a private citizen after midnight tonight," she said. Ultimately, 73 per cent of the projects given money were not among those recommended by Sport Australia. Ms Palmer said the design of the program meant she knew the minister would ultimately make the decision about which sporting clubs got money. The minister "had a much broader understanding of the program or what she's trying to achieve". "We fulfilled our responsibility very professionally and it was fair and sound, and I think undertaken in good faith and our people did a terrific job of that," she said. The committee heard on Thursday that Sport Australia had twice warned Senator McKenzie's office of the risks of its separate assessment of grants. Senator McKenzie was forced to quit after she was found to have broken ministerial rules by not declaring potential conflicts of interest relating to gun club memberships. Australian Associated Press
Bureaucrat Glenys Beauchamp has told the sports grants inquiry she has destroyed all her notes.
The first time the former chief of Sport Australia saw a colour-coded spreadsheet the sport minister's office had produced was when it was handed to her as she walked into a parliamentary grilling last year.
Former sports minister Bridget McKenzie's office was criticised in an audit of a $100 million grants program overseen by Sport Australia for running a parallel assessment process biased towards coalition-held and target seats in the lead-up to the 2019 federal election.
The auditor-general revealed the minister's office created dozens of versions of a spreadsheet between October 2018 and April 2019 that colour-coded grant applications according to which political party held the electorate they were from.
Kate Palmer, who led Sport Australia until late January, told senators on Friday although she was aware the minister's office had its own assessment process, the first time she saw the colour-coded document was in April 2019 although she could not recall the exact date.
She was so surprised by the colour coding that she called for a meeting with the secretary of the health department, which oversees Sport Australia, and her organisation's board chair that night.
Health department officials later said that was likely on April 5, 2019.
But the health department boss, Glenys Beauchamp, has destroyed all her records of that meeting because Friday is her last day as a public servant.
"I saw a coloured spreadsheet put under my face just as I was entering Senate estimates - that's the only spreadsheet I saw," Ms Palmer told the inquiry into the affair.
"I did not read the spreadsheet, I just ... glanced at it and then stood up and walked into Senate estimates."
After that April hearing, she discussed with Ms Beauchamp and Sport Australia chair John Wylie the fact she had seen the spreadsheet and what should be done about it.
Sport Australia then provided that spreadsheet to the auditors, who had already begun examining the program.
Ms Beauchamp described the phone hook-up with Ms Palmer and Mr Wylie as an "ad hoc meeting".
She agreed she would have taken notes but asked where they were, replied: "It's interesting you should say that because it's my last day in the public service and I have destroyed all of my notebooks and notes."
Senators were incredulous at the news.
Ms Beauchamp said it was her practice to make "scratchings ... of things that I might have to follow up on" and translate anything that needed to be put on the official record into email or discussions with colleagues.
"I should not have notebooks and things as a private citizen after midnight tonight," she said.
Ultimately, 73 per cent of the projects given money were not among those recommended by Sport Australia.
Ms Palmer said the design of the program meant she knew the minister would ultimately make the decision about which sporting clubs got money.
The minister "had a much broader understanding of the program or what she's trying to achieve".
"We fulfilled our responsibility very professionally and it was fair and sound, and I think undertaken in good faith and our people did a terrific job of that," she said.
The committee heard on Thursday that Sport Australia had twice warned Senator McKenzie's office of the risks of its separate assessment of grants.
Senator McKenzie was forced to quit after she was found to have broken ministerial rules by not declaring potential conflicts of interest relating to gun club memberships.
