Charges have been laid in the Frances Abbott hacking case, and now, a former teacher is speaking to the media, claiming that in his observations, she was “not deserving” of the $60,000 scholarship she received from The Whitehouse Institute.
The Sydney Morning Herald report that Melletios Kyriakidis, who resigned from Whitehouse in June after Ms Abbott’s student records were leaked, has now brought a Fair Work complaint against his former employer.
Kyriakidis argues that he was dismissed because of his political beliefs, saying that he was “morally outraged” at the waiving of Frances Abbott’s tuition at the school, and decided to act as a “whistle blower.”
He has named Tony Abbott as one of several individuals in his claim, and has lashed out at the Prime Minister, saying that “if you’re going to put a budget out there and say you all have to do it tough, you have to lead by example.”
Kyriakidis was Frances Abbott’s teacher for three years, and speaking to the press about his former student, he says that, while she was a “high achiever” who received distinctions, there were “a lot more people” deserving of scholarships.
“Even from her class I could name 10 people more deserving either for merit or financial need or both,” he said, claiming that several of said students sought scholarships but were rebuffed.
“Frances is a lovely person,” he added. “I don’t want this to be about her but I want this to be about fairness.”
Sydney student and former Whitehouse librarian Freya Newman has been charged following the leak of Ms Abbott’s student records.
It is alleged that on May 20 of this year, she accessed a Whitehouse database using another staff member’s login details to obtain them, before leaking them to online publication New Matilda.
Photo: Lisa Maree Williams via Getty Images
