Australia Post’s Christine Holgate gave a Cartier treat that became poison

The idea to gift Cartier watches worth a total of $20,000 came from Deutsche Post, Christine Holgate has revealed.

Australia Post chief executive Christine Holgate. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

The idea to gift four Australia Post executives Cartier watches worth a total of $20,000 came from Deutsche Post, Christine Holgate has revealed.

Ms Holgate gifted the watches to the senior executives who brokered a $66m a year deal with three of the big four banks in 2018 to allow post offices to continue to perform basic banking services.

The decision, which she admitted did “not pass the pub test for many” cost her job running the postal service, with Prime Minister Scott Morrison demanding that she stand aside “or go” while her expenses were investigated.

The investigation found “no examples of dishonesty” and in a submission to a Senate Inquiry into her departure, Ms Holgate said the idea to purchase the watches was borrowed from Deutsche Post - owner of Australia Post competitor DHL Express, which won the contract from the Morrison government to distribute the COVID-19 vaccine.

Ms Holgate said Australia Post’s executive general manager of products and innovation, Ingo Bohlken, who she poached from Deutsche Post in 2018, said the German-headquartered organisation regularly awarded watches to employees to reward success.

The Cartier watches were gifted to four senior executives in 2018 in recognition of securing a deal worth $66m a year with three of the big banks to allow post offices to perform basic banking services.

“(Mr Bohlken) shared with us that in Germany, his former employer Deutsche Post often gave watches when an individual had done an exceptional role. I wanted to give these individuals an award that recognised this historic moment in our time and their role in securing it, hence why watches were chosen,” Ms Holgate wrote in her submission.

“This type of rewarding is a highly appropriate and cost-effective form of employee incentivisation widely practised by businesses big and small internationally.”

Ms Holgate said the banking deal was a “landmark agreement” that allowed banking services to continue in more than 3000 post offices and injecting much-needed funds into those post offices.

“Following the initial agreements, there have been further significant improvements to the deal for Community Post Offices under Bank@Post. The annual minimum payments to the Licensed Post Offices were raised by 25 per cent-plus to $40,000 per annum and the transaction costs by 50 per cent.

“Technology would be provided free of charge, cash counters were provided, and security would be increased.”

Despite this achievement, Ms Holgate said Mr Morrison “humiliated” her in parliament and Australia Post chairman Lucio Di Bartolomeo “unlawfully” stood her down.

Ms Holgate said she never agreed to stand down, contrary to Mr Di Bartolomeo’s comments to the Senate, saying she had requested two weeks’ annual leave to enable an investigation into Australia Post’s expenses to be held “promptly”.

Ms Holgate later offered to resign but said she never signed a deed of release, meaning the $7bn government-owned organisation could restrict her from working elsewhere for a year and not pay her a cent.

“To this date I have not received any explanation why I was forced to stand down other than the (Communications) Minister and Prime Minister insisted on it and that in itself, does not have legal standing.

“Scott Morrison on 2GB stated that “she has been instructed to stand aside”. This statement from the Prime Minister clearly confirms again that I was instructed to stand aside. This statement was on air and I believe not protected by parliamentary privilege.”

Mr Morrison’s thunderous criticism came as the government was also under fire for spending $30m - or 10 times its value - on buying a parcel of land from a Liberal party donor in Western Sydney

Ms Holgate said Mr Morrison and Communications Minister Paul Fletcher never gave her an “opportunity to explain” why the watches were gifted and their treatment of her was in contrast to the government spending 10 times too much buying land in Western Sydney from a Liberal party donor.

“Their approach to me was in complete contrast to how they have treated people in their own party or who had paid $30m for a piece of land which was valued at $3m.

“I was being “hung” for rewarding four outstanding executives for delivering a landmark agreement, which saved many Community Post Offices. An agreement their colleague, (Treasurer) Josh Frydenberg had played a strong role in.”