- Natalie Barr attacks politicians who make a barrel of pork
- She grilled Labour’s Clare O’Neil and Liberal’s Jane Hume on Sunrise
- A poll found that most Australians believe corruption is widespread
- READ MORE: Nat Barr punches Peter Dutton after a backflip
Natalie Barr has slammed politicians involved in pork after shocking data showed the majority of Australians believe corruption is rife in the political world.
The TV presenter spoke to Home Secretary Clare O’Neil and opposition finance spokeswoman Jane Hume on Channel Seven’s Sunrise on Wednesday morning.
Barr pointed to a recent poll commissioned by the Australia Institute, which found two-thirds of Aussies thought corruption was common in federal politics.
More than 80 percent viewed pork barreling — in which politicians direct public funds to their seats to win votes — as corrupt behavior, a point Barr focused on when she questioned the pair.
‘So, are you both (Labour and Liberal) going to stop producing pork? Because that’s what they say. They don’t want it, they don’t like it,” Barr asked bluntly.
‘They (the voters) also think that pork barrels stink if you put money into a seat to win it for the next election. This could be a wake-up call for all politicians.”
Sunrise presenter Natalie Barr (pictured) has slammed politicians who use pork after a recent poll found more than 80 percent of Australians viewed pork as corrupt behavior and two-thirds believed corruption was common in federal politics
Ms Hume made accusations against Labor from the last federal election before Barr returned to power.
“I would be careful, Jane. Would you throw stones over pork barrels?’ she said.
The Coalition’s finance spokeswoman went further, pointing out how Labor provided subsidies to certain sporting venues in Labor-held seats, including the Oakleigh Tennis Club in Melbourne’s south-east.
The $800,000 grant, which also went to Monash City Football Club and East Oakleigh Cricket Club, was awarded in 2018 by Daniel Andrews’ Labor state government.
‘What about parking garages?’ Barr fired back, referring to the Morrison government’s controversial $660 million commuter parking program.
The fund was part of the then coalition government’s $4.8 billion Urban Congestion Fund programme. A Senate investigation found that about 77 percent of projects were promised to coalition seats.
Barr spoke about the findings in a candid interview with Home Secretary Clare O’Neil and shadow finance minister Jane Hume on Wednesday morning.
After Ms Hume began accusing Labour, Barr fired back with a reference to the former Morrison government’s controversial parking fund, which funneled money into marginal and Coalition-held seats (pictured, former Prime Minister Scott Morrison)
She then gave the floor to the Home Secretary, who said: ‘I think we can all do better’.
“I think we need to stand strong together against corruption,” Ms O’Neil said.
“You know, it’s really important that Australians feel they can trust their politicians.”
“I think we can all do better and the National Anti-Corruption Commission will make a huge difference.”
There is no evidence that the politicians featured in the Seven Network TV segment did anything wrong.