Whistleblower who leaked a secret scholarship for Tony Abbott’s daughter to be sentenced this week

From News Forage

A young university student at the centre of the Whitehouse Institute secret scholarship story is facing up to two years jail. Max Chalmers reports.

A 21-year-old journalism student at the University of Technology, Sydney will face a Sydney Court this week to be sentenced for accessing student records that showed the Prime Minister’s daughter received a secret scholarship from the Whitehouse Institute of Design.

In September, Freya Newman pleaded guilty to breaching Section 308(H) of the NSW Crimes Act,which forbids accessing restricted data held in a computer.

The charge carries a jail sentence of up to two years.

Newman worked as a part-time librarian at the Whitehouse Institute, quitting shortly after it was revealed Tony Abbott’s daughter Frances had been approached by the college to accept a rare scholarship.

Ms Abbott paid just $7,546 for her $68,182 degree.

At the time Tony Abbott was the Leader of the Opposition.

Documents obtained by New Matilda showed Frances Abbott had a single meeting with the college’s owner Leanne Whitehouse, and after graduting from the three year course was also awarded given a job at the Institute.

Internal registers revealed that unlike the college’s 73 other employees, Frances Abbott had no assigned role.

Since charges have been brought against Newman, support has grown from sources as diverse as human rights lawyer Julian Burnside and former ‘Neighbours’ star Caitlin Stasey.