Millions of dollars of industry grants, some of which were personally selected by Scott Morrison when he secretly held the portfolio, will be rolled out to recipients after a review.

Labor’s Industry Minister Ed Husic has given the green light to proceed with the $1.3 billion Modern Manufacturing Initiative (MMI) after the review found processes were followed.

The examination found the final decision on who should receive the lucrative grants, some of which were handpicked by the former prime minister, was supported by an independent committee.

Mr Morrison had made himself the final decisionmaker for some of the grants which Mr Husic described as “in defiance of usual practice”.

Mr Husic had been highly critical of the timing of the payments after 68 were announced in the months leading up to the Federal election in May.

In a statement to the ABC, Mr Husic defended ordering the review.

“Given the former government’s track record on grants, it was entirely appropriate this program was closely examined,” he said.

“Unlike some programs under the former Liberal and National Government, the MMI grants were independently assessed.”

The Industry Department has begin the contracting process.

Industry minister Ed Husic. Photo: AAP

It comes as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese works on the details of an inquiry into Mr Morrison’s decision to secretly swear himself into five ministerial portfolios between 2020 and 2021.

The solicitor-general this week released legal advice saying while the appointments were valid, they were inconsistent with constitutional conventions and at odds with responsible government.

While there have been calls for Mr Morrison to be referred to a powerful parliamentary privileges committee over the controversy, such attempts have been rejected by House of Representatives Speaker Milton Dick.

The grants review was ordered after news broke of Mr Morrison’s secret ministries.

It was later revealed the then prime minister secretly held the Industry portfolio when he approved 17 projects as part of the manufacturing initiative in the months leading up to the federal election.

Of the projects, more than half were in electorates held by the Coalition while just three were in safe Labor seats.

Mr Husic warned at the time that some projects faced the risk of losing the money allocated.

His comments followed a report by the Grattan Institute on pork-barrelling which found that $1.9 billion of grants went to Coalition seats and $530 million to Labor seats between 2017 and 2021.

-with AAP