Dodgy operators around the nation should rejoice in the news that Freya Newman has pleaded guilty to accessing restricted data and faces the possibility of a couple of years in prison.

What a relief that a would-be whistleblower apparently had no choice but to go down, that the law puts private property rights ahead of political transparency.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott's daughters were seen regularly during the last federal election campaign. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

Let that be a warning to you all.

Not that I would suggest for a moment that there was anything dodgy about the Whitehouse Design Institute giving a $60,000 scholarship to the then-opposition leader's daughter.