Yahoo Finance Australia Post CEO resigns 'immediately' amid $20k watch scandal
Australia Post chief executive Christine Holgate has resigned from the company today, after it was revealed the business spent thousands on Cartier watches for executive staff members.
"I have offered today the Chairman and Board of Australia Post, with great sadness, my resignation as Chief Executive with immediate effect," Holgate said in a statement on Monday.
"I am not seeking any financial compensation."
Holgate has been CEO of Australia Post since 30 October 2017, and is one of the top-earning public sector workers, with a salary of $1.6 million for the 2019-20 financial year.
It was revealed to a Senate Estimates committee the postal service spent nearly $20,000 on luxury watches for staff members who were part of a successful deal with the major banks.
It was also revealed that the company paid a whopping $34,000 for Holgate’s hotel stays in Melbourne between October 2017 and July 2018.
"I deeply regret that a decision made two years ago, which was supported by the Chair, to recognise the outstanding work of four employees has caused so much debate and distraction and I appreciate the optics of the gifts involved do not pass the ‘pub test’ for many," she said.
“I still believe firmly that the people who achieved the Bank@Post outcome for Australia Post deserved recognition, their work secured a $220m investment over the following years, which dramatically improved the financial performance of the company, protected a critical community service which more than 50 per cent of the communities in Australia depend on and made our Community Post Offices sustainable for the long term."
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