2022 Federal Election: What is pork-barrelling, it is illegal and how do politicians do it?

So what is pork-barrelling, and how do politicians do it?

Essentially, it's an accusation of buying votes, particularly in electorates that are needed to stay in power.

Generally, pork-barrelling is when governments use taxpayer money to pay for projects that are aimed at winning votes.

Importantly, it's when politicians use their power as an incumbent government to distribute more funding to certain districts than is reasonably deserved.

In these cases, the projects are chosen not on merit, but on their potential to sway votes, usually in marginal seats or otherwise key electorates.

"Pork-barrelling is the use of public or government money on, usually on localised projects, but with a fairly clear aim of winning over public support and votes rather than something that's necessarily in the public or the national interest," said Dr Jacob Deem from the University of Central Queensland.

No-one is quite sure where the term originated, though it may have had its roots in the days of slavery.

Masters would present a barrel of salted pork to their slaves under the guise of it being a reward. They would then watch as the slaves fought over the meat.

Whether this is the origin of the word, it's safe to say, it is not an endearing term at all.

"It's not illegal," Dr Deem said.

"When it's done too much or depending on how much money is used, it can be considered corruption. But it's a bit of a gray area and it can be quite difficult to prove.

"The lack of a federal independent corruption authority makes it difficult to really police at the national level as well.

"But it's often not illegal, but certainly frowned upon."

A very clear example of pork-barrelling emerged following the 2019 federal election.

In the year before that election, the Coalition government budgeted $100 million for its Community Sports Infrastructure program.

Three rounds of funding were released between December 2018 and April 2019 (ahead of the May 19, 2019 election).

That money was to be allocated for the upgrading of the nation's local sporting facilities, as judged on a merit-based application process.

But, the independent auditor general found that many marginal or key seats were unfairly privileged in the allocation of funding.

Rounds two and three, announced in February 2019 and April 2019, were found to be the most biased.

As many as half of the funded projects were deemed to be low-priority projects, unworthy of funding at that time.

It was also found that the sitting Coalition government had ignored the advice of Sports Australia in determining the priority list for funding.

For example, the Mossman Rowing Club in the electorate of Warringah received half a million dollars for its upgrades.

Whereas a football club in the seat of Cunningham only suburbs away was unsuccessful in its bid for funding, despite needing significant upgrades.

During the 2019 election, former Prime Minister Tony Abbott faced strong competition from Independent candidate Zali Steggall, who ended up ousting the former Liberal leader from his seat.

Meanwhile, Cunningham has been a safe Labor seat since Sharon Bird was elected to it in 2004.

So, Cunningham was a far less strategic division for the Coalition than the seat of Warringah was.

"The big scandal [became known as] the sports rorts and that was the targeting and funding of community sports grants in really crucial marginal electorates with the aim of winning over enough voters to win those seats," Dr Deem said.

The sports rorts affair resulted in the resignation of then-sports minister Senator Bridget McKenzie due to her apparent failure to declare her membership with the Wangaratta Clay Target Shooting Club in Victoria.

McKenzie had allegedly signed up for a membership with the club in January 2019.

Less than a week later, McKenzie's office submitted its list of successful applications, including a $36,000 grant awarded to the Wangaratta Clay Target Shooting Club.

Though, it's important to note that it is unclear whether the shooting club was on Sports Australia's original list.

But, the ABC revealed in 2020 that the club had scored just 69 out of 100 on Sports Australia's merit list. The club received the funds despite other clubs that scored in the high 90s being unsuccessful at the same time.

And in the immortal words of a famous pig by the name of Porkie, "that's all folks". Except that it isn't.

In the two years since the sports rorts scandal, Senator McKenzie has returned to Cabinet and now serves as the Minister for Regionalisation, Regional Communications and Regional Education.

Due to the fallout of this particular scandal, both the Coalition's Scott Morrison and Opposition's Anthony Albanese have faced intense questioning over whether they will introduce a federal Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).

ICACs exist at a state level and have been responsible for the resignation of several high-profile state premiers, including most recently the former NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian.

In April, Labor announced it would fund an anti-corruption watchdog at the federal level by the end of 2022.

Meanwhile, Liberal have just this week doubled down on their promise to fund an ICAC, though they say it will look very different from the ones that exist on a state level.