frances abbott "headhunted" for scholarship

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/22/frances-abbott-courted-scholarship-new-matilda

The Whitehouse Institute of Design courted the prime minister’s daughter Frances Abbott a number of times and gave her a scholarship during her first and only interview, raising more questions over whether the $60,000 scholarship should have been declared on Tony Abbott’s interest register, according to new revelations published by New Matilda.

The independent news site has reported leaked documents from the institute which show the precise amount, $60,636, Frances was awarded to complete her design degree. The chair of the institute’s board of governors, Les Taylor, is a personal friend of the prime minister and has made donations to the Liberal party.

Guardian Australia revealed on Wednesday that Frances had been the recipient of a “chairman’s scholarship” from the institution, with Taylor later saying he had recommended her personally. Taylor said he had no say in the selection process.

New Matilda reports that Taylor was tasked with courting Frances away from other institutions with the lure of a scholarship. It states that internal Whitehouse documents show that from December 2010 at least four attempts were made to contact Frances. A meeting with Whitehouse’s managing director, Leanne Whitehouse, eventually took place on 18 February 2011.

The report states that Abbott was offered the scholarship during that first meeting.

The New Matilda report raises more questions about the nature of the scholarship, which is not advertised on the Institute’s website and, according to the CEO of Whitehouse, Ian Tudor, is only granted “occasionally”.

The New Matilda documents describe the scholarship as a “managing director’s scholarship”, but it has been referred to by Leanne Whitehouse, Tudor, and Taylor as a “chairman’s scholarship”.

Tudor said on Wednesday that Abbott was only the second recipient of the award. He has not replied to detailed questions from Guardian Australia about the criteria for the scholarship, who else has won it, and whether it is open for public application.