Tony Abbott named in Fair Work case over Frances Abbott’s scholarship at Whitehouse Institute of Design

Tony Abbott named in Fair Work case over Frances Abbott’s scholarship at Whitehouse Institute of Design

• 10 days ago
  August 15, 2014
  4:26PM
  

The academic who leaked details of Frances Abbott’s scholarship is taking the case to the Fair Work Commission.
Source: News Corp Australia

PRIME Minister Tony Abbott has been named as a respondent in a
workplace case involving the design school which provided his daughter
Frances with a scholarship.

Academic Melletios Kyriakidis is taking his former employer, the
Whitehouse Institute of Design in Sydney, to the Fair Work Commission
alleging he was discriminated against for his political beliefs.

Mr
Kyriakidis leaked news of Ms Abbott’s scholarship to the media and
resigned in June after being investigated by the school for a privacy
breach.

He has told Fairfax Media he had been “morally outraged”
that Ms Abbott’s fees had been waived while her father’s government was
trying to increase the cost of degrees through deregulation. While he
said Ms Abbott was a high achiever, there were others at the school with
much greater financial need.

Frances Abbott (second from top left) with the 2013 graduating class from the Whitehouse Institute of Design.
Source: Supplied

The former design institute staffer was also concerned Mr Abbott had
not declared the $60,000 scholarship on his pecuniary interests
register when it was awarded in 2011.

The prime minister said in
an update to his parliamentary pecuniary interest register this week
that he was receiving discounted legal services from the firm Seyfarth
Shaw Australia. While he did not specify it related to the Kyriakidis
case, Mr Abbott wrote it pertained to “an action made pursuant to Part
3-1 of the Fair Work Act 2009”.

Seyfarth Shaw, which set up shop in Australia last year, has a reputation as a union-busting law firm in the US.

It is understood a confidential conference relating to the matter was held in Sydney on Tuesday.

Les
Taylor, the chairman of the institute, has made donations to the NSW
Liberal Party and has known the Abbott family for many years.

The
institute has said the scholarship was given at arm’s length from the
chairman and Ms Abbott received it based on the merit and quality of her
portfolio and application.