Government moves to terminate OnePath grant

Multicultural Affairs Minister Anne Aly told Parliament on Wednesday that the Department of Home Affairs has issued OnePath Network a notice of intention to terminate its grant, beginning the process of revoking the funding.

The Islamic media organisation received around $300,000 under a program intended to strengthen social cohesion.

“The decision that the member refers to was a decision that was made by the department,” Aly said in response to a question from shadow education minister Julian Leeser.

She said the government had funded new technology in this year’s budget to scan the public statements of visa applicants, and that she had directed the department to explore whether it could also be used in grant applications.

Leeser had asked why the government gave taxpayer funding to “a group spilling hate-filled lies about Jews”, noting the organisation had compared Israel to Nazi Germany and claimed the firebombing of a Sydney Jewish childcare centre was staged.