Ousted Australia Post boss Christine Holgate’s predecessor spent $7,000 on luxury pens and smart watches for executives, an inquiry has heard.
The splurges by Ahmed Fahour, whom Ms Holgate replaced in 2017, were uncovered by a credit card audit after her controversial departure in November.
The charges included a $2,400 pen Mr Fahour authourised for outgoing chairman David Mortimer in August 2012.
Ms Holgate claims she was illegally forced to resign last year after it emerged she spent $20,000 on four Cartier watches as a reward for the company’s executives.
Ex-Australia Post CEO Christine Holgate claims she was illegally forced to resign last year after it emerged she spent spent $20,000 on four watches as a reward for executives. An inquiry has heard her predecessor spent $7,000 on luxury pens and smart watches for senior staff
However, the audit found no evidence of Ms Holgate’s claims staff working under Mr Fahour were given cars to reward performance.
Six smart watches valued at $579 each were bought as gifts for senior staff or for use in the workplace over two months in 2015, the company told the inquiry into the national postal service.
Another $1,108 pen was bought for an unnamed employee under Mr Fahour’s time as chief executive between 2010 and 2017, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.
Mr Fahour resigned in February 2017 after his enormous $5.6 million salary was revealed by a Senate committee after the government tried to keep it secret.
Ms Holgate’s submission to the inquiry said she heard of high-performing staff being sent on overseas trips in the years before her tenure.
She said the practice of receiving watches for strong performance was common at Australia Post, and some were even given cars in previous years.
‘No evidence has been identified by the review that would indicate that a car or any other vehicle or similarly valued item has been provided to Australia Post personnel or to any third party,’ documents submitted to the inquiry by the company read.
No evidence though was found to support Ms Holgate’s claims staff working under previous CEO Ahmed Fahour (pictured) were given cars to reward performance
Ms Holgate gifted the watches to executives as a reward for securing a Bank@Post deal with three of the four big banks, for which Australia Post earned $220 million.
In a heated Question Time debate after the lavish gifts came to light in October last year, a furious Mr Morrison called for her to stand aside, saying ‘she can go’.
Ms Holgate eventually resigned in November – but claims she was illegally forced to step aside and since called Mr Morrison’s scathing attack on her in parliament ‘one of the worse acts of bullying I’ve ever witnessed’.
Her supporters subsequently sent $5 notes to Mr Morrison as a stunt to cover the cost of the Cartier watches.
The Licensed Post Office Group – representing 3,000 privately owned and operated post offices – launched the $5 campaign after being angered by comments made by the Prime Minister in the wake of controversy over the watches, worth $5,000 each.
She told a Senate inquiry into Australia Post earlier this month she was of the belief more than 20,000 notes were sent to Mr Morrison by angry post office licensees.
The $5 notes were sent to cover the cost of the watches, four of which were purchased for $5,000 each (stock image)
‘(We) were told that it was over 20,000 $5 notes, but we don’t know. It’s hearsay,’ Ms Holgate said.
Angela Cramp, Licensed Post Office Group executive director, said she and her members were curious to know where their money ended up, in response to a question by Senator Kimberley Kitching during the inquiry.
Senator Kitching said she had put a question to the Prime Minister’s office asking how money $5 notes were sent but never got a response.
‘We suspect there are many thousands of people who would like an answer to that,’ Ms Cramp said.
‘A lot of taxpayers told us that they had sent one in. They sent emails and sent pictures of themselves sending them in. We suspect thousands did.’
But according to Mr Morrison’s office, the amount of cash sent to the Prime Minister only equated to 180 people sending in $5 notes.
‘The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet handles correspondence sent to the Prime Minister. There was a total of $900 sent regarding the Australia Post matter,’ a spokesperson told the Sydney Morning Herald.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison (pictured) called for Ms Holgate to stand aside, saying ‘she can go’ after details of the watch controversy came to light
The watches were awarded as a bonus to Ms Holgate’s team after they successfully pulled off a $70 billion deal to create Bank@Post, which provides banking services at every post office (stock image)
Ms Holgate insisted to the inquiry she did nothing wrong.
She also said she was suicidal and took insomnia medication due to her poor mental health as a result of Mr Morrison’s public rebuke.
In an interview with The West Australian, Mr Morrison said he regretted causing distress but stopped short of an apology.
‘I see that this has caused some very strong reaction from Christine and had hurt her deeply. That was not my intention and so I regret that,’ he said.
Daily Mail Australia contacted the Prime Minister’s Office for comment.
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