And while two more scholarship grants which have come to our attention might not be filed under the heading of nepotism, there may be some cries of favoritism.
Documents sent to 7News show that two senior public officers who are also active in the labour movement have received forty thousand dollar scholarship grants to pursue specialized studies.
On January 11, 2019, Sharon Frazer and Jacqueline Willoughby both received letters from the Education department saying that they had received the grants.- approved by Minister Patrick Faber.
Both Fraser, who is the Chief Magistrate, and Willoughby - who is a crown counsel in the DPP's Office are pursuing masters degrees in Industrial and Employee Relations at the University of Turin, Italy.
Both women are trade unionists who are considered sympathetic to the Barrow Administration. Fraser is a leader of the Association of Public Service Senior Managers, while Willoughby had been at the forefront of the PSU until she recently resigned in protest.
Education Minister Patrick Faber told us this evening there's nothing abnormal or unusual about it. He says he got the requests in the summer and approved them as he has other "prof and tech" scholarships for trade unionists. For context, he said he recently gave a 75 thousand dollar scholarship to an individual recommended by the PSU. He also notes that his government paid a full scholarship with 100% pay when unionist Elena Smith got her degree in Massachusetts.
Faber adds that the scholarships followed all norms and the usual guidelines.
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