on 21-05-2014 01:31 PM
Tony Abbott’s daughter Frances received a “chairman’s scholarship” for a degree costing more than $60,000 from the Whitehouse Institute of Design where an Abbott donor sits as chairman on the board of governors, Guardian Australia can reveal.
The revelation raises questions for the prime minister over whether the scholarship should have been declared on his interests register.
The Coalition government is also under pressure over changes to higher education funding announced in the budget.
Frances Abbott undertook a bachelor of design at the Whitehouse Institute of Design in Sydney from 2011 to 2013. Guardian Australia has confirmed that she received a scholarship during her time at the institute.
“Frances definitely was a student with us and received a chairman’s scholarship,” Leanne Whitehouse, director of the Institute told Guardian Australia. She declined to detail how many times the “chairman’s scholarship” has been awarded previously, but the institute’s website makes no references to the scholarship and states the institute “does not currently offer scholarships to gain a place into the Bachelor of Design”.
22-05-2014 11:29 PM - edited 22-05-2014 11:34 PM
on 22-05-2014 11:32 PM
BS
on 22-05-2014 11:32 PM
@am*3 wrote:
Yes. Why should a PMS daughter get a $60 000 schloarship that is rarely given ( chairman of college friend of the family).
Lots more deserving (on merit) students would like a chance to get one.
How do you actually know that.
on 22-05-2014 11:35 PM
on 22-05-2014 11:36 PM
Again BS
on 23-05-2014 12:33 AM
"Apart from that there are registers where they must declare gifts etc."
This has been covered A3, I posted the link to the parliamentary Pecuniary Interest register. The scholarship certainly was not (back then) or now considered a pecuniary interest. so I still would be interested in why the pink myops here regard it as so, other than by jumping on the sleazy partisan Guardian bandwagon.
on 23-05-2014 12:42 AM
on 23-05-2014 08:10 AM
@crystal**flake wrote:
@am*3 wrote:
Yes. Why should a PMS daughter get a $60 000 schloarship that is rarely given ( chairman of college friend of the family).
Lots more deserving (on merit) students would like a chance to get one.How do you actually know that.
Crystal.
Whitehouse is the most prestigious and expensive design school in the country.
Over the last decade I have had the good fortune to be on selection committees for my universities design course some absolutely brilliant design students who arrived at our uni with excellent portfolios and amazing references asking us to take them on because they were unable to complete their studies (at Whitehouse) because they could not afford to continue.
Some of these students topped the year at Whitehouse but rather than keep them by providing them with scholarships, the college lets them go.
That is because they do not offer full fee scholarships.
Except in this case for some inexpliable reason.
on 23-05-2014 08:14 AM
Free ride Frances.
why am I not surprised.
on 23-05-2014 08:18 AM
This from the Federal Public Service Code of Conduct manual:
When deciding whether to accept a gift or benefit, the reputation of the APS is paramount. A useful test is for employees to consider how they might answer questions from a parliamentary committee. If it would be embarrassing, then perhaps the gift or benefit should not be accepted.
And:
A gift or benefit may include:
Note the last line above.
And:
Employees should be aware of agency-specific policies about accepting gifts and benefits; such policies should apply to members of an employee's family, where acceptance may impact on the employee's official duties.
I think that this makes it pretty clear that the acceptance of a $60,000 scholarship by the PMs family that falls in the category of "free or discounted training and development courses" should not have been accepted. And at the very least, should have been declared.