Former Aust Post CEO opens up on Cartier watch scandal

Former Australia Post CEO Christine Holgate has broken her silence five months after the Cartier watches scandal, in a submission to a Senate inquiry.

In the submission, Holgate referred to the events of 22 October 2020 saying she was “humiliated in Parliament” and “unlawfully stood down for no justified reason” by Australia Post chair Lucio Di Bartolomeo.

“Throughout this period, I have only made one statement – my reluctant offer to resign – and I have deliberately avoided the opportunity to speak out about what happened,” Holgate said.

“At the time, I believed remaining silent was in the best interests of Australia Post and of my own health, which the actions of others and ensuing events had severely compromised.

“The experience the chair of Australia Post and others put me through – which continues – should never be allowed to happen again, not just at Australia Post, but in any organisation, to any person, in any role.

“The chair of Australia Post not only unlawfully stood me down, he lied repeatedly to the Australian people and to their Parliament about his actions. Time after time he has made statements that I had agreed to stand down when I had done no such thing. The evidence in this submission is irrefutable and I urge you to read it in full.”

Holgate further elaborated that when she offered to resign to protect the organisation, her letter to him was leaked to the media before he had responded to her.

She alleged Di Bartolomeo then made his own statement which she said “was and remains false” and that she received a counter-offer hours later with no agreement reached.

“In short, I was treated like a criminal by my own chairman, but I had committed no crime,” she said.

Cartier watch scandal

Holgate was stood aside in October 2020 after the federal government launched an investigation into the purchase of $12,000 in luxury Cartier watches for four senior Australia Post employees.

Holgate disclosed the purchases during a Senate Estimates hearing in Canberra but defended the action saying the watches were not paid for by taxpayer funds, as Australia Post is a commercial organisation.

In her statement to the Senate inquiry, Holgate stood by her previous claim, saying that the “purchase of the four watches as a reward for the efforts of executives who delivered the pivotal Bank@Post deal was legal, within Australia Post’s policies, within [her] own signing authority limits, approved by the previous chairman, expensed appropriately, signed off by auditors and the CFO, widely celebrated within the organisation, and presented at a morning tea” by the previous chairman and herself.

“Yet somehow, I was forced out of my job over it. For this, I blame one person- the chair, Lucio Di Bartolomeo. He knew all of the facts but chose to stand aside from his responsibility to defend me and Australia Post, from those who didn’t know all of the facts. He then lied about his actions and about other important issues,” she added.

Di Bartolomeo hits back

Di Bartolomeo issued a statement on 7 April, hitting back at Holgate’s claims in the Senate inquiry.

According to Di Bartolomeo, Holgate agreed to stand aside.

“Holgate claims that she was unlawfully stood down. That is not correct. On 22 October 2020, Holgate agreed with me to stand aside from her role pending the outcome of the shareholder departments’ investigation and any further actions taken by Australia Post,” he said.

“The agreement for Holgate to stand aside was reached between myself and Holgate in telephone discussions late that afternoon, in breaks during a \Board meeting that commenced at approximately 4.00pm. The Board did not stand down, or suspend, Holgate from her role – that being an unnecessary consideration given her agreement to stand aside.

“Holgate wrote to Australia Post at 10.46am on 2 November 2020 advising her resignation with immediate effect and that she would not be seeking financial compensation and attaching a public statement that she said that she would release at 2.00pm. We understand that Holgate then released the statement at 2.00pm and subsequently advised the Australia Post Executive Team at 2.29pm that she had done so. Australia Post did not issue a public statement until 3.00pm, after Holgate had issued her public statement.”

Di Bartolomeo also refuted some of Holgate’s other claims, saying she was provided extensive and ongoing support from Australia Post’s most senior human resources executive, no counter-offer was made to prevent her from working for 12 months without pay, and that Australia Post was obligated to disclose information regarding credit card transactions and other expenses, in response to Senate Committee questions and Freedom of Information requests.

“Notwithstanding our ongoing offers of support, it is important to correct some of the points attributed to Holgate in recent media reporting,” he added.

Australia Post has lodged a detailed submission for the purposes of the Senate Inquiry and Di Bartolomeo said the company is considering making a further submission.

A hearing is scheduled for 13 April.

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