Yahoo Finance Australia Post boss denies she voluntarily stood aside over $20,000 Cartier watches
Christine Holgate has warned that “optics” are not enough for her to be stood aside as Australia Post’s chief executive pending a review of corporate gifts including Cartier watches.
In a statement issued by her lawyer, Holgate has dug in and demanded Australia Post provide grounds to stand her aside over the controversial decision to give watches worth $20,000 as executive bonuses, revealed at Senate estimates last week.
Australia Post on Thursday stated Holgate had agreed to stand aside, after her lawyer, Bryan Belling, said the organisation had not provided “any proper notification that she has been stood down from her role”.
The prime minister, Scott Morrison, denounced the “disgraceful” corporate largesse on 22 October in what Belling said was a “humiliating answer during question time” in parliament.
Belling had written to Australia Post demanding to know on what basis Holgate was stood aside, prompting the postal service to state she had agreed to do so in a phone conversation with its chair, Lucio Di Bartolomeo.
Holgate’s lawyer, in correspondence to the board, said the call involved an offer to take annual leave rather than stand aside.
Australia Post bought four Cartier watches in November 2018 as a reward for four senior managers who helped secure a deal to allow more people to do their banking at post offices. Belling said that Holgate “will fully support a fair investigation” into the issue.
But Belling said the board was required to “formally notify Ms Holgate that she has been stood down and this notification must stipulate the grounds for this action”.
“The board has failed to do so,” the lawyer said.
“It is now exactly seven days since Ms Holgate was the subject of a humiliating answer during question time. In that time Ms Holgate has not had any proper notification that she has been stood down from her role, nor has she been informed as to why she should be stood down, nor has she had any communication regarding what the investigation into Australia Post from either the board or the government.”
An Australia Post spokesperson said the corporation had “been communicating frequently with Ms Holgate regarding the current situation and ensuring appropriate support has been provided”.
“The chair stands by his previously made statement on Thursday 22 October that Ms Holgate will stand aside and this was agreed to by both parties in a telephone conversation.”
Belling said that, in his opinion, there were “no grounds for Ms Holgate to be stood down and ‘optics’ is not a legally-valid defence”.
“I have taken the step of releasing this statement because within the past week I have written to the board and again separately to the chairman of Australia Post and have not received a response in terms,” he said.
“I have been left with no choice but to publish this statement in the interests of my client.”
Australia Post has confirmed that Holgate will receive her full salary while the matter is under investigation. Holgate’s base salary this year is $1.42m, which equates to $27,243 a week, or $108,972 over the four-week investigation timeframe.
John Stanhope, who was chair at the time the Cartier watches were given, told the Australian Financial Review on Thursday he could not remember authorising the spending in 2018.
Di Bartolomeo, who was appointed as chair late last year, has said the board and management team would “fully cooperate” with the investigation.
He said the board was advised “that a check of board papers and minutes from this period show the then board was not asked to approve or note the purchase of those Cartier watches”.
