The federal minister responsible for a hugely controversial $660 million car park fund has denied knowledge of a list of marginal electorates used to guide the selection of projects.
The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) found the sites chosen for the National Commuter Car Park Fund were not based on merit and were directed at coalition-held seats.
Deputy auditor general Brian Boyd also told a parliamentary inquiry last month a maintained by the office of then-infrastructure minister Alan Tudge had been the starting point for funding decisions.
The list was also circulated to the Prime Minister's Office, the ANAO said.
Mr Tudge on Wednesday faced his first questions since the auditor general’s damning report in June - which found 77 per cent of the projects were in coalition seats - and defended the government's handling of the program.
“The commuter car parks sites were chosen on the basis of need,” Mr Tudge told reporters.
He also denied knowledge of the marginal electorate list.
“I’m not aware of that list,” he said.
The fund was used in the run-up to the 2019 election to promise new car parks and upgrades near train stations at 47 sites, including two in Mr Tudge's own electorate of Aston.
Only two of the promised car parks have been completed so far.
Mr Boyd told the parliamentary committee last month the projects were identified by canvassing coalition politicians and candidates.
“The key thing was to touch base with the top 20 marginals, either the member of the House of Representatives if the electorate was held by the coalition, the relevant duty senator for other electorates and endorsed candidates in two other electorates to ask them 'what projects in your electorate do you think worthy of being put through this program?'” he said.
Mr Tudge said he was “not aware of that" when questioned about it on Wednesday.
Labor has labelled the fund "car park rorts" and accused the government of pork barrelling.
Opposition infrastructure spokesperson Catherine King on Wednesday said the government had misused Australian taxpayer money.
“If Minister Tudge didn't know, the only other person who the Australian National Audit Office named is the Prime Minister's Office,” she told reporters.
“There is a major problem with the way in which this government uses any discretionary grants scheme,” she added, referring to the "sports rorts" scandal.
Later on Wednesday, Labor's Katy Gallagher attempted to compel the government to produce evidence of the marginal electorate list in the Senate.
The National Commuter Car Park Fund included 44 projects across 47 sites.
Of those 47 sites, 40 were selected in the three months prior to the caretaker period associated with the 2019 federal election and the other seven were made as election commitments.
Mr Tudge said the auditor general had found the decisions on the car parks were "all lawfully based".
“Thirty-three of them were ticked off by the department for coming up for decision. We took those to the Australian people and the Australian people voted for them,” he said.
Mr Tudge also defended the equity of the government's spending, saying the coalition had spent $9.1 billion on three projects across Labor-held seats in western Melbourne.
He also pointed to 10 federally-funded car parks in the city's west or north, “80 per cent of which were in Labor seats”, and said 33 car parks funded by the state government were focused on Labor seats.
“When you are balancing those out you are seeing commuter car parks right across Melbourne,” he said.
