Thursday 2 June 2022 07:28 AM Atlassian co-founder Scott Farquhar's campaign for co-education at Cranbrook ... trends now
Atlassian co-founder Scott Farquhar has suffered defeat at his children's high school while his business partner Mike Cannon-Brookes made moves on the AGL board.
Mr Farquhar was humiliated in front of other high-profile parents on Tuesday night after publicly campaigning for a refreshed school board that would be open to considering co-education at the elite all-boys Cranbrook School in Sydney.
Cranbrook has been around for 104 years and counts high-profile public figures among its alumni including Kerry and James Packer, David Gyngell, Nick Tobias, and Mr Farquhar Atlassian partner Mike Cannon-Brookes.
Atlassian co-founder Scott Farquhar's plans to make elite all-boys school Cranbrook a co-education campus took a hit with the re-election of the previous council
The school held its annual general meeting on Tuesday where parents participated in a vote for the school's council.
For several months, Mr Farquhar and supporters - including Caledonia co-chief information officer Will Vicars and chair of venture capital firm OneVentures Walter Lewin - have advocated for a renewed council that would allow girls to attend Cranbrook by 2023.
Mr Farquhar and wife Kim Jackson showed they were prepared to sponsor scholarships for girl students who are interested in attending the prestigious school.
The proposal to enrol 70 senior girls in Years 11 and 12 from 2023 was put forward to the Cranbrook school community during several town hall briefings in early May and was supported by the school principal Nicholas Sampson.
However, the opposition also had the support of big names including former Labor minister Graham Richardson, who said he likely wouldn't have enrolled his son at Cranbrook if he'd known co-ed classes were proposed.
For several months advocates have proposed enrolling 70 girls in Years 11 and 12 from 2023, a proposal which has been supported by the school principal Nicholas Sampson
Mr Farquhar Atlassian partner Mike Cannon-Brookes recently made headlines for using 11.3 per cent share in AGL to dismantle a proposed demerger, with both the chief executive Graeme Hunt and chairman Peter Botten resigning as a result.
But unluckily for Mr Farquhar, 80 per cent of parents voted to reelect the school's current council - with some people noting the result was an clear indicator of parents' opinion on co-ed classes.
During his election speech, school president Jon North said: 'Cranbrook is not AGL' in a clear dig at Mr Farquhar attempts to oust him.
However Mr Farquhar reportedly left the event after the results were announced and likely didn't hear the comment.
Days earlier, Mr Cannon-Brookes, Australia's second richest man with an estimated fortune of $27.87 billion, used his 11.3 per cent share in AGL Energy via his private investment company Grok Ventures to kill off the demerger proposal.
Shareholders were clearly unimpressed with AGL Energy's share price plunging by 3.38 per cent to $8.57 within the opening half-hour of trade.
Australia's biggest energy producer dumps plan to carve off its coal-fired power stations and its bosses QUIT in huge victory for greenie tech billionaire after relentless campaign
By Stephen Johnson, economics reporter for Daily Mail Australia
Australia's largest energy
