Australia Post CEO Christine Holgate eligible for $277,000 ‘deferred’ bonus, despite veto

Australia Post senior executives, including CEO Christine Holgate, remain eligible for bonuses to be paid this month.

Australia Post CEO Christine Holgate. Picture: John Feder

Australia Post chief executive Christine Holgate is still in line for a $277,000 bonus to be paid this month, despite the postal service’s board vetoing executive bonuses this year following mounting political pressure.

Ms Holgate — Australia’s highest paid public servant with a base salary of $1.5m — remains eligible for a bonus because it is a deferred incentive payment from 2019, representing 18.75 per cent of her fixed annual remuneration.

It forms part of a pool of more than $825,000 in deferred “short-term incentive award” payments from 2019 that is payable this month and that Ms Holgate and four of her senior executives will share.

Australia Post bonus payments have angered both sides of politics and the community as the country battles a coronavirus-fuelled recession, with more than one million Australians out of work.

Australia Post chairman Lucio Di Bartolomeo, who the federal government hand-picked last November, ruled out any executive bonuses for the 2020 financial year.

“Today the Australia Post board determined that no short-term incentive payment would be made to the executive team for financial year 2020. I have every confidence in the executive team and their commitment to excellent performance in the year ahead,” Mr Di Bartolomeo said on Wednesday afternoon.

But that commitment did not include deferred 2019 bonuses, payable this month.

“The deferred amounts relate to incentives awarded to participants for performance in an earlier year, the 2019 financial year. They have previously been reviewed and released by the board in accordance with Australia Post’s remuneration policy and practices,” an Australia Post spokeswoman said.

It follows Ms Holgate writing to staff last Thursday saying the board had approved bonuses for 2500 or the postal service’s 36,000 employees who are not on union agreements.

The board vetoed payments on 2020 bonuses after Ms Holgate appeared to leave the door open for potential executive bonus payments after Australia Post delivered record revenue of $7.5bn and a 30 per cent rise in profit.

“It‘s pretty black and white … the [executive team] has led our business through one of the most challenging periods … and yet they’ve still delivered a fantastic result,“ she told the ABC’s 7.30 program this week.

This is despite Ms Holgate saying in March that she and her executives had revoked their right to bonus payments to help combat rising costs from the COVID-19 pandemic.

I want you to know that the executive team and our board are all doing their share,” Ms Holgate said at the time.

Need for bonuses questioned

“The executive team and board have all agreed to take a 20 per cent in their salaries for the months ahead as we go through this crisis. In addition, the executive team has agreed to forsake any right to a bonus payment for this year, the combination of both, effectively reduces their earnings in this period by more than 50 per cent.”

The potential payment of bonuses angered communications Minister Paul Fletcher, who said he expected Australia Post to “honour its commitment” to not paying executive bonuses, after the federal government granted the postal service “regulatory relief” to deliver letters every other day in cities and slow delivery times on some routes.

Opposition communications spokeswoman Michelle Rowland also questioned the need for bonuses.

“Australia is in recession. Over half a million workers have lost their jobs and families are struggling to pay their bills,” Ms Rowland said.

“The notion that senior Australia Post executives could be handing themselves millions in bonuses is both obscene and out of touch.

One Nation Senator Pauline Hanson — a vocal critic of Ms Holgate’s predecessor Ahmed Fahour’s $5.6m pay packet — also criticised the postal service over potential bonus payments, questioning why public servants should receive “incentive payments” during a recession.

“I’ve got to question why pay bonuses. They are employed because of their ability to do the best job they possibly can. Why are we paying them bonuses to do their job?” Senator Hanson said.

Rather than line executive pockets, Senator Hanson said the incentive payments could be added to a dividend payment from Australia Post to the commonwealth, helping fund schools, hospitals and other public services during the pandemic.

“A lot of Australians have taken a cut in their wages, a lot of people have lost their jobs and are doing it tough. And I think for an Australian-owned asset, which Australia Post is, it all comes back to taxpayer dollars.

“Those dollars are actually propping up a lot of people, a lot of business, a lot of families, and helping those in need. This is at a time when the Australia Post CEO and executive are on extremely, very good wages. At this time, I don’t believe they should be getting any bonuses.”

Last financial year, Ms Holgate’s total remuneration was $2.7m, which included bonuses of $831,375 and $224,500 in other “long-term benefits”, making her the nation’s highest paid public servant.