Top postie Christine Holgate needs a stamp of approval

Illustration: Rod Clement

With the cards stacked against Australia Post Christine Holgate, it’s no wonder that she’s calling in the big guns.

Margin Call hears Ross Thornton’sreputation management and strategy outfit Domestique has made a few calls to defend the boss at the centre of the Cartier watch controversy, including touting the success of the Bank@Post deal for which the senior execs were rewarded.

The group denied any formal engagement with Holgate, saying only that Thornton had a longstanding relationship with the now under-fire chief and that he had acted as a “sounding board” of sorts, along with other members of corporate Australia.

Coincidentally, Thornton and his crew were also tapped to help the national postal service’s reputation on a $119,000 retainer for two months earlier this year.

The time wasn’t right for a luxury watch.

The contract was the subject of several lines of questioning at the very hearing that exposed the watches at the centre of the drama — where head of community and consumer Nicole Sheffield told senators the group had been chosen after discussion among the senior executives, notably at the expense of Sue Cato’s rival firm.

Sheffield noted that Domestique, whose strategists also include former Rio Tinto adviser David Luff, had been engaged initially for two months, and would continue to do work for the postal service as required.

The question is whether any defence of its temporarily stood-down chief comes under that remit, and who foots the final bill.

Of course, with a $27,000-a-week pay cheque, there’s no doubt that Holgate herself could stump up the cash to cover Thornton’s friendly ear when his good graces finally expire, with the scrutiny of her penchant for spending set to step up a gear as the joint Finance and Communications department investigation kicks off.

Terms of reference released by the government on Monday put Holgate on notice, as well as the broader board including ex-chairman John Stanhope.

Here’s hoping they are more co-operative with that probe than the Senate estimates committee, where chair Lucio Di Bartolomeo and even recently-appointed deputy chairman Andrea Staines were notably absent.

Client clash

Stockbroking firm Ord Minnett had escalated a stoush with two former private client advisers to the NSW Supreme Court, amid allegations the two women shared confidential information and tried to poach former clients.

Ords, chaired by Karl Morris, earlier this month filed summons against Candice Bourke and Felicity Thomas, two of its former employees both now at rival firm Shaw and Partners with co-heads Earl Evans and Allan Zion, as well as two key forces behind female financial literacy group, Her Financial Network.

While they certainly didn’t jump ship for the gender diversity — Shaw’s website shows just two females across its leadership, research, corporate, institutional and wholesale team of 50 — Ords alleged, among other things, that both former employees have been in contact with prior clients.

We got ahead of ourselves. Where earlier we said the case is set to be heard in two weeks, a settlement between parties was reached last Thursday and filed on Monday.

Under the consent orders this removes any restraint on Bourke and Thomas from working for Shaw and Partners.

The order also includes a list of their former clients, who they are free to deal with immediately and, after 21 December, they can solicit any other clients who are not included on the list.

The court proceedings have otherwise been dismissed.

Ord Minnett chair Karl Morris. Picture: Adam Armstrong

Packer victory

Finally, a spot of good news for Crown’s James Packer.

As former judge Patricia Bergin mulls the future of the casino group’s NSW licence, in Los Angeles an arbitrator has upheld a gag order preventing Packer’s former girlfriend, British actress Charlotte Kirk, from divulging details of a 2017 confidential settlement to keep details of her sexual relationship with former Warner Brothers chief Kevin Tsujihara under wraps.

Ms Kirk had sought permission from the court to allow her to speak publicly about the scandal, including making an allegation of non-consensual sex against Tsujihara. Packer’s lawyer Martin Singer claimed there had been a “honey trap” scheme to extort $335m from his clients. The US judgment found in favour of Packer’s camp, including Tsujihara and producers Brett Ratner and Avi Lerner.

No doubt Packer will be hoping the rest of his legal matters go as smoothly.

James Packer’s former girlfriend Charlotte Kirk.

Sign of the times

ISignthis has slammed the market operator ASX for an alleged abuse of power and lashed its conduct as “disgraceful” in the latest ratcheting up of tensions between the two parties.

The release of details of the payment group’s correspondence with global giant Visa triggered the spray on Monday, described by boss John Karantzis as a means of “creating a public controversy where one did not exist”.

The outspoken exec added that his company had been unfairly targeted by the ASX, who was directing criticism to it over and above its role as regulator: “The ASX Ltd alone stands out in its continuous and unjustified attacks on the Company, as it seeks to further its commercial interests by abuse of the listing rules and its position as a licensed market operator.”

Karantzis has brought a case against the regulator in the Federal Court, claiming damages related to its lengthy suspension from trade, even at one point calling in corporate regulator ASIC to defend its right to be returned to trade.

Still, the ASX maintains the case is immaterial to its operations, no matter how much ISX lifts its claims to, and says the information released was well within its rights in order to conduct a fully informed market.

In a notice accompanying the Visa letters, the ASX said it was “now considering what further action should be taken in relation to these matters”.

An ominous sign-off if we ever saw one.