A petty burglary at the Gungahlin Jets has put the amateur AFL club at the centre of a political row over government grants to community groups and sporting organisations.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Theives broke into a shed at the Amaroo-based club on Thursday night, stealing soft drinks and water bottles for a planned fund-raising barbecue on Saturday.
About $1500 in damage to the club's 10-metre-wide tin shed, known as ''the hangar'', is now subject to an insurance claim.
Built in November with community fund-raising and support from AFL Canberra, the shed holds club equipment and is also used for game-day activities and meetings.
The break-in has also highlighted the Jets' loss of more than $60,000 in federal government funding to build clubrooms.
Promised by the former Labor government as part of the Building Multicultural Communities Program, the money was withdrawn after the Coalition won government.
A security system, heavy duty roller door and closed-circuit cameras would have been installed as part of the upgrade.
The club had spent about $5500, installing a ramp to the shed and fitting secure glass doors and wiring for electric lighting.
Officials were told by a government spokesman in mid-December that the initial outlay would be reimbursed but the rest of the money would not be available to the club.
The cancelled funding was decried as political pork barrelling.
Labor MP for Fraser and shadow assistant treasurer Andrew Leigh said on Sunday the incident showed the importance of similar grants to community groups and sporting teams.
''We'll never know for sure whether the break-in could have been prevented if the Jets had received the grant, but we do know that the government's penny-pinching didn't need to happen,'' he said.
''The government went to the election promising a parental leave scheme that would pay $75,000 to the most affluent families to have a child.
''Just one millionaire family will get more if they have a child than the Gungahlin Jets were denied to build a better sporting club.''
Dr Leigh called on the government to apologise to the club and reinstate the promised funding.
ACT Liberal senator Zed Seselja described the withdrawn funds as ''an election eve promise'' by the Rudd government.
''I went out to meet with the Gungahlin Jets in November and learnt of the unfunded promises Labor had made to the club,'' Senator Seselja said.
''I then advocated for the Jets in a meeting with the Minister for Sport in November and made representations to the Minister for Social Services in December.''
Builder Goldruby Homes last week donated $1000 in building materials for upgrades to the shed and volunteers are expected to carry out essential works.
