An investigation into whether cabinet minister Bridget McKenzie broke ministerial rules is yet to be finalised two weeks after the prime minister ordered the probe.
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Scott Morrison says he hasn't received advice from Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet secretary Philip Gaetjens after ordering him to investigate a scandal-plagued sporting grants scheme.
Senator McKenzie is under intense pressure to quit after the auditor-general found the $100 million program favoured marginal and targeted seats before last year's election.
New emails surfaced on Friday evening suggesting the prime minister's office also played a role in deciding where the grants were awarded, Network Ten reported.
The prime minister's office told Network Ten that Mr Morrison had never directed Senator McKenzie to fund a specific project.
Mr Gaetjens is also looking into a $36,000 grant the former sports minister awarded to a Victorian shooting club of which she is a member.
Since Mr Morrison ordered his department secretary to look into the handling of the program, more damaging revelations have highlighted the scale of ministerial intervention.
Sports Australia's recommendations were often ignored.
Clubs missed out on money despite ranking far above the government agency's threshold to award cash for projects.
Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese said the Gaetjens review was unnecessary because the auditor-general had already condemned Senator McKenzie's actions.
"This is a farce and it's about time that Bridget McKenzie resigned her position and if she won't do that, the prime minister should sack her," he told reporters in Sydney.
"The only thing that could be possibly holding that back is the direct involvement of the prime minister's office in this tawdry rort that has seen legitimate sporting clubs miss out in favour of this political process."
The prime minister insists all projects were eligible and claims the program was not about saving the coalition's skin at the election.
The most recent inquiry into a potential breach of ministerial standards cleared ex-cabinet members Julie Bishop and Christopher Pyne after 18 days in July.
In 2016, former department head Martin Parkinson took four days to find Stuart Robert inadvertently broke ministerial rules, leading to his resignation from the front bench.
Australian Associated Press
