Politics · Australia · 26 mins ago
Albanese admits sewage works were not part of $6m golf club grant
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese admitted he was wrong about the purpose of a $6 million grant promised to Marrickville Golf Club in his Sydney electorate.
Department officials told a Senate hearing that sewerage works were not included in the grant.
The money is for clubhouse upgrades, a stormwater harvesting system, electrical work and a botanical garden.
Albanese had earlier said the grant would address sewage problems that could send raw sewage into the Cooks River during floods.
New South Wales is funding the sewerage work separately, after stepping in in September 2025.
The grant has drawn scrutiny because it went to a club with a long association with Albanese, and because many grants in the wider program went to Labor-held or competitive electorates.
The opposition says Albanese should correct the parliamentary record, but the House rejected its attempt to compel him to explain the grant.
Department officials said the $6 million Marrickville Golf Club grant was not intended to fund sewerage work.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese acknowledged that his earlier claim about the grant was not correct.
Officials said the grant covered a stormwater harvesting system, an electrical upgrade and a botanical garden.
Albanese said the NSW government had taken on funding sewerage-related upgrades in September 2025.
The grant became a focus of wider criticism of government infrastructure funding decisions.
- Who
- Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Marrickville Golf Club. Department officials and opposition politicians challenged his account of the grant.
- What
- Officials said the $6 million grant did not include sewerage work. Albanese acknowledged his earlier claim was not correct.
- When
- The officials spoke at a Senate estimates hearing on Monday evening; Albanese responded in Parliament on Tuesday, October 27, 2026.
- Where
- Marrickville Golf Club, in the Sydney electorate of Grayndler.
- Why
- The dispute followed Albanese’s earlier claim that the grant would fix sewage issues affecting the Cooks River.
Anthony Albanese and the government
Coalition opposition
Purpose of the grant
Anthony Albanese and the government
Albanese had said the grant was to address sewage problems; he later said the NSW government had stepped in to fund those upgrades.
Coalition opposition
The Coalition said Albanese should explain his claim and correct the record.
Funding decisions
Anthony Albanese and the government
Albanese defended the grant as necessary for the community and said he did not give final approval.
Coalition opposition
The Coalition criticised the grant and raised concerns about the allocation of government funding.
Albanese promised Marrickville Golf Club an additional $6 million.
The NSW government stepped in to fund sewerage-related upgrades, Albanese said.
Department officials told Senate estimates that sewerage work was not part of the grant.
Albanese said in Parliament that his earlier claim was not correct.
- Grant
- $6 million
- Club
- Marrickville Golf Club
- Electorate
- Grayndler
- Federal program
- Major and Local Community Infrastructure Program
- Stormwater allocation
- $1 million for stormwater harvesting, according to Inner West Council meeting minutes
- Department’s description
- Sewerage works were not in the scope of the grant
4 sources
What people are saying
not in the scope of this grant
I have said that was not correct
Just admit you got it wrong and tell the truth.
It does not include sewerage works