Anti-Frydenberg campaign leader at centre of nepotism inquiry

The director of a campaign to oust Josh Frydenberg from his seat of Kooyong was at the centre of a WA Crime and Corruption Commission probe into nepotism.

Ann Capling.

The director of a campaign to oust Josh Frydenberg from his inner-Melbourne seat of Kooyong was at the centre of a West Australian Crime and Corruption Commission probe into nepotism.

Political scientist and Kooyong Independents director Ann Cap­ling resigned as deputy vice-­chancellor and provost of Mur­doch University ahead of a CCC finding in 2016 that vice-chancellor Richard Higgott had failed to declare his close friendship with her when recruiting her for the role.

While the corruption watchdog stated in its findings its focus was on the actions of Professor Higgott, and “should not be read as adverse to Professor Cap­ling’s abilities or suitability for ­appointment”, it found Professor Higgott had made a “sham declaration” that the pair had a professional association “at arm’s length” and that he had extensively consulted Dr Capling and her partner, Michael Crozier, in the course of recruiting her, and creating a role for him.

Confirmation of Dr Capling’s role in authorising Kooyong Independents’ election material comes as the group prepares to announce its candidate for the 2022 federal election on Saturday, having ­secured financial backing from Simon Holmes a Court’s Climate 200 organisation.

While the Kooyong Independents have revealed their candidate is female, supporters are tight-lipped about the identity of the woman, whom Dr Capling says was chosen after an extensive three-month search. “More than 20 people applied for the position and another 10 or so people were informally approached. There was an intensive, multi-stage selection process overseen by a committee that was representative of the Kooyong community,” she said.

Prominent among the group’s members on its social media ­accounts is Burnet Institute senior postdoctoral researcher in mal­aria and infectious disease epidemiology, Julia Cutts.

An expert on international political economy and the multilateral trade system until her retirement from Murdoch in 2015 – and from an honorary professorial position at the University of Melbourne in 2016 – Dr Cap­ling said she had joined Kooyong ­Independents as a volunteer in 2019 in support of then candidate Oliver Yates and his “platform of climate change action and the ­establishment of a federal ICAC”.

Her departure from Murdoch in July 2015 came nine months after the CCC’s investigation ­became public knowledge, prompting Professor Higgott’s resig­nation, and Dr Capling’s ­decision to take leave to respond to alle­gations of misconduct.

Dr Capling told The Australian her departure came after a “four-year career” at Murdoch, during which she “completed all that I had set out to do. My home is Melbourne and I wanted to come back to be closer to my friends and family. As you know from the CCC ­report, there was no adverse finding against me. I was head-hunted for the position by an external recruitment agency and I went through a normal, transparent and rigorous selection process.

“I was totally unaware of the V-C’s failure to declare our friendship. In my application letter, I specifically indicated that I had known the V-C for many years and had collaborated with him on academic research publications, which were included in my CV.”

The CCC found Professor Higgott, who was deemed to have used his work computer to download almost 500 “adult-rated files”, had “perverted the selection process” by giving Dr Capling ”substantial assistance not given to any other applicant”.

It concluded that Professor Higgott had flown to Melbourne to meet Dr Capling and Dr Crozier over dinner at the Grand Hyatt, paid for by the university, and “it is probable that a major purpose of the dinner was to discuss Dr Crozier’s possible employment”.

“Dr Crozier prepared a document titled Murdoch University: Professorial Fellowship in Office of the Vice-Chancellordetailing possible specific projects. Professor Capling ‘polished up the front end’ and suggested Dr ­Crozier send it to Professor Higgott at his (non-Murdoch) email ­address,” the watchdog found.

As evidence of the nature of the relationship, the CCC cited email correspondence in which Dr ­Capling addressed Professor Higgott as “My dearest Higgy”, “Higlet” and “Your Higginess” and signed off with “xoxo”.

Despite being one of 12 candidates, she was the only person interviewed for the role of deputy vice-chancellor education.

The Treasurer held Kooyong in 2019 with a 49.41 per cent primary vote, compared with 21.24 per cent for Greens candidate Julian Burnside, 16.83 per cent for Labor’s Jana Stewart and 8.98 per cent for Mr Yates.

Pollster and Labor operative Kos Samaras said a range of factors would give a strong independent candidate a “pretty good chance” in the seat, where the Greens have preselected lawyer Piers Mitchem and Labor retired physician Peter Lynch.

“Scott Morrison was a new entity back in 2019,” he said. “Voters in a seat like Kooyong now know him, and they don’t like the brand of Liberal that his government represents. They don’t like Labor, but they’re definitely looking for something new.”