Christine Holgate to be paid $110,000 a month as she is suspended as Australia Post CEO

Australia Post boss Christine Holgate will be receiving $110,000 a month as she is suspended over a $12,000 Cartier watch scandal.

Before the revelation about the lavish gifts of $3,000 for four senior executives, she was already Australia’s highest-paid government employee.

In 2019, she was on a base salary of $1.4million but with bonuses, her remuneration swelled to $2.565million.

Following her suspension, on $110,000 a month, she will still be receiving the equivalent of $1.2million a year.

Her future is in doubt after she gave her senior colleagues $3,000 Cartier watches in October 2018 as a reward for securing a $66million deal with three of the big four banks – Commonwealth Bank, NAB and Westpac. 

Australia Post is an independently-run government business enterprise that like a private sector company aims to make a profit.

While it isn’t directly funded by the taxpayers, Communications Minister Paul Fletcher and outgoing Finance Minister Mathias Cormann are its key shareholders.

Ms Holgate, the UK-born former boss of complementary medicines company Blackmores, stressed no taxpayer funds were used.

‘I have not used taxpayers’ money. We are a commercial organisation,’ she told a Senate estimates hearing on Thursday.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison was furious at that response and ordered she be suspended pending an investigation.

Australia Post has confirmed her suspension, which will see chief financial officer Rodney Boys become acting CEO.

‘The Australia Post Board and management team will fully cooperate with the recently announced investigation to be conducted by shareholder departments,’ it said.

In a bizarre coincidence, the postal service’s first female leader wore a stylish watch of her own as she was grilled over the scandal at Senate estimates on Thursday – a gold Bulgari timepiece that retails for $48,000.  

Ms Holgate, who raised eyebrows last year when her husband bought her a Range Rover with ‘POSTY1’ number plates, was questioned by Senators for four excruciating hours.  

And it took a fraction of that time for Mr Morrison to order her to stand down pending an investigation. 

Ms Holgate confirmed four of her highly-paid executives were handed Cartier watches during a cross-examination with Labor Senator Kimberley Kitching. 

They were ‘awards’ for securing a deal with the Commonwealth Bank, Westpac and NAB, which paid a combined $66million to Australia Post so its customers could access banking services at its stores across the country. 

‘They got watches,’ Ms Holgate said as she was questioned by Senator Kitching.

‘They were a Cartier watch of about a value of $3,000 each.’ 

Senator Kitching replied: ‘Four people got Cartier. Do you remember the brand, the type? Was it a Cartier Tank? What was it?’ 

‘I don’t recall. I didn’t actually purchase them. They were organised through my office,’ Ms Holgate responded.   

Mr Morrison said the gifts were ‘disgraceful’ and ‘appalling’. 

‘She’s been instructed to stand aside and if she doesn’t do that, she can go,’ he told parliament on Thursday.  

As public anger over the revelations mounted online, a member of Australia Post’s social media team suggested in a since-deleted comment on the company’s Twitter account he was unhappy he hadn’t been rewarded for his hard work.

The comment came in response to a tweet saying front line employees had worked just as hard as the company’s executives.

‘Front line postal workers put in an inordinate amount of work, too. Where are their Cartier watches,’ one social media user wrote.

‘Don’t forget about the behind the scenes and customer support workers,’ Australia Post’s official account responded – signing off as ‘Liam’.

‘My wrist is light.’

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Australia Post for comment.  

Australia Post is a commercial business that does not get taxpayer funding – but its only shareholder is the Australian government which means its finances are scrutinised by politicians. 

Mr Morrison said the government has launched a four-week investigation into the lavish gifts.

‘We are the shareholders of Australia Post on behalf of the Australian people,’ he said.

‘As any shareholder would in a company raise their outrage if they had seen that conduct, by a chief executive, management or the board, they would insist rightly on the same thing.’ 

Australia Post chairman Lucio Di Bartolomeo said in a statement later on Thursday Ms Holgate would stand aside from her role while her conduct is investigated.

‘The Australia Post board and management team will fully co-operate with the recently announced investigation to be conducted by shareholder departments,’ he said.

‘Group CEO & managing director Christine Holgate will stand aside during the investigation. During this time, Rodney Boys, chief financial officer, will be acting in the role.’ 

Communications Minister Paul Fletcher said boards and managers of government business enterprises needed to take great care with how they spend money.

‘I was as shocked and concerned as everybody else to discover this,’ he told parliament.

‘This is a matter which the Australian government take seriously.’

Union leaders slammed Australia Post’s leadership over the watches.

CPSU deputy national president Brooke Muscat said members had taken a pay freeze while working harder during the pandemic.

‘How are they rewarded? Not with a watch or a bonus I can tell you that,’ she said.

‘Whether it’s watches in 2018 or big fat bonuses in the middle of a pandemic, the Australia Post board and its management are out of touch.’

Posties’ union national secretary Greg Rayner wants the entire board to be stood aside.

‘It’s outrageous that Australia Post’s CEO and board gifted $3000 watches to four senior, highly paid employees,’ he said.

‘But it’s not surprising given the other shocking decisions coming out of Australia Post’s leadership this year.’

Ms Holgate said the watches were given as an appropriate reward to four executives who worked hard over a deal with Australia’s big banks. 

‘They were a small number of senior people who’d put an inordinate amount of work in,’ she said.

‘They did receive an award on behalf of the chair, myself and the board.’

Senator Kitching grilled Mr Boys, who couldn’t say how the watches were paid for.

‘You spent $12,000 on watches and you can’t tell me what credit card you put it on?’ she said.

Mr Boys said the organisation took great care over $7.4 billion worth of expenses.

Ms Holgate did not receive a watch but senior executive Gary Starr, who also appeared before the committee and earned $809,648 in the past financial year, did.

Mr Starr was not wearing the watch and denied he had given it away as a gift.

Ms Holgate was born in Cheshire, England and moved to Australia to work for Telstra in 2003.

In 2008 she was made CEO of health supplements company Blackmores before landing the top job at Australia Post in 2017.