The Australia Post chairman has hit back at claims by the company’s former boss that she was bullied out of her job in a 1,000-word smackdown.
Ousted postal boss Christine Holgate gifted four senior executives $20,000 worth of luxury Cartier watches on October 2018 as a reward for securing a $66 million deal with three of the big four banks.
Ms Holgate resigned following a subsequent investigation into the gifts and the alleged misuse of corporate credit cards late last year, with chairman Lucio Di Bartolomeo claiming she agreed to step down.
But in an explosive 151-page statement on Tuesday to a Senate inquiry into her departure, the former chief executive said she made no such agreement and accused Mr Di Bartolomeo of lying to parliament.
Pictured: Australia Post CEO Christine Holgate appears before a Senate estimates hearing in Canberra on October 22
In her statement to the inquiry which contained emails, photos of cards and a letter to her lawyers, Ms Holgate claimed Mr Di Bartolomeo treated her ‘like a criminal’ and blamed him solely for her being forced out of the top job.
She alleged the chairman unlawfully stood her down and failed to defend her despite knowing the facts of the case.
The former Blackmores executive said the watches were bought legally and signed off by then-chairman John Stanhope, auditors, and Australia Post’s chief financial officer.
An independent investigation later cleared Ms Holgate of any dishonesty, fraud, corruption, or intentional misuse of taxpayer funds.
‘[It was] widely celebrated within the organisation, and presented at a morning tea by the previous chairman and me with a thank you card signed by both of us,’ she wrote.
‘It was then found to be legal by the ‘review’ which was clearly intended to find it otherwise.’
Mr Di Bartolomeo told an inquiry last November he would have blocked the purchase of the luxury watches if he was in charge when the gifts were handed out.
Pictured: Australia Post Chair Lucio Di Bartolomeo appears before a Senate estimates hearing at Parliament House in Canberra on November 9
‘He lied repeatedly to the Australian people and to their parliament about his actions,’ she claimed in the submission.
‘Time after time he has made statements that I had agreed to stand down when I had done no such thing.
‘He then abandoned me to a media firestorm that he and others had created and cut me off from resources, despite knowing that these events had caused me to seek mental health care and medication.’
On Wednesday afternoon, Mr Di Bartolomeo hit back with a 1,000-word statement and said Ms Holgate was a ‘very good chief executive’ but accused her of making a series of incorrect claims in her submission.
‘Ms 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 board’s intent was to ensure that both Ms Holgate and the organisation could focus their attentions on full co-operation with the investigation.
Ms Holgate said the watches were given as a reward to four executives who worked hard over a deal with Australia’s big banks. Pictured: An Australia Post store in Sydney
‘The board did not stand down, or suspend, Ms Holgate from her role – that being an unnecessary consideration given her agreement to stand aside.’
He claimed the agreement was reached in telephone conversations, which go against Ms Holgate’s claim that the pair communicated in two emails on the same afternoon that Prime Minister Scott Morrison demanded she step aside.
In October, Mr Morrison said the Cartier 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.
Mr Di Bartolomeo said he and Ms Holgate did not speak after the Question Time comments, ‘however, phone records support my recollection – including that we had conversations at 4.27pm and 5.50pm on that day’.
In response to Ms Holgate’s comment that she only ‘offered to resign’ and never signed the deed of release, the chairman said she wrote to Australia Post at 10.46am on November 2 advising her immediate resignation.
‘We understand that Ms Holgate then released the statement at 2.00pm and subsequently advised the Australia Post Executive Team at 2.29pm that she had done so,’ he said.
Ms Holgate said she had two witnesses who could support her version of events, including Australia Post’s human resources boss Sue Davies who joined her on the three-hour trip to Sydney from Canberra after Mr Morrison’s comments.
It was within those three hours that Ms Holgate and Mr Di Bartolomeo exchanged emails, according to her statement.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the gifts were as unacceptable and ordered her to step down
Ms Davies is understood to be giving evidence at the inquiry and Ms Holgate and Mr Di Bartolomeo are expected to give in-person evidence.
In his lengthy statement, Mr Di Bartolomeo also said he did not try to restrict Ms Holgate from working elsewhere for 12 months, despite Australia Post not paying her any compensation to do so.
‘Ms Holgate claims that I made a counteroffer which would have prevented her from working for 12 months without pay. That is not correct.
‘The existing provisions of Ms Holgate’s contract of employment contained non-compete provisions, as is common for such senior executive roles. These provisions apply only to working for a competitor for a period of six months from the end of Ms Holgate’s employment – and therefore expire on May 2, 2021.
‘Regarding payment, Ms Holgate had already advised the Board and stated publicly that she was not seeking any financial compensation.’
The ex CEO also said she asked Aystralia Post for support but was met with ‘continuous requests to examine credit card expense records, on the disguise that they must be made public, presumably to cause me even greater harm’.
But Mr Di Bartolemo said he was complying with a freedom of information request.
‘She also claims there were leaks of misleading reports regarding the management of expenses. This is not correct,’ he added.
‘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.’
