Australia Post foots $34,000 bill for Christine Holgate’s suite at Melbourne’s Grand Hyatt

The Sydneysider billed Australia Post for a nine-month stay at the Grand Hyatt Melbourne while she worked out of head office.

Australia Post paid for Christine Holgate to stay for nine months at the luxury Grand Hyatt hotel in Melbourne. Pictures: File

Australia Post paid more than $34,000 for chief executive Christine Holgate’s nine-month stay in a Grand Hyatt suite in Melbourne.

Ms Holgate, who lives in Sydney, stayed at the luxury hotel when she commuted to the company’s Melbourne head office most weeks, with Australia Post footing the bill between October 2017 and July 2018.

The revelation comes as the federal government said an independent investigation into Australia Post would examine management culture particularly “in relation to gifts, rewards and expenses, including personal expenses of executives”.

The government announced the investigation last week after Australia Post confirmed Ms Holgate spent close to $20,000 on rewarding four senior executives with Cartier watches.

Since Scott Morrison demanded Ms Holgate stand aside, criticising a culture of excess at Australia Post, a divided picture has emerged of one of the country’s highest-profile executives.

A room at the luxury Grand Hyatt in Melbourne, where Christine Holgate stayed four nights a week for nine months.

While there has been no shortage of leaking from the highest levels at Australia Post — a number of staff departed during her tenure — internal surveys show the celebrity chief is well-liked among frontline workers.

Ms Holgate is backed by other prominent business figures including Collingwood Football Club president Eddie McGuire, ABC chairwoman Ita Buttrose and hundreds of licensed Australia Post store owners, who are planning to shut their doors for a day this week in protest at the treatment of Ms Holgate.

But allegations that Ms Holgate presided over a culture of largesse at Australia Post have incensed the Prime Minister and will be scrutinised by the investigation, which is expected to be finalised within four weeks.

Melbourne’s Grand Hyatt hotel. Picture: File

“It was an ‘enough is enough’ moment,” a senior government source said of Mr Morrison’s reaction to the news Australia Post executives were gifted the Cartier watches. “He was filthy at the waste and the lack of understanding that this was taxpayer money – that infuriated him the most.

“It’s 100 per cent owned by the taxpayer so your profits are taxpayer profits, yet this culture of excess remains. It’s a culture that needs to be eradicated.”

Ms Holgate’s office amassed almost $300,000 on its corporate credit last year. The Weekend Australian revealed hair and make-up services for executives, along with lavish dinners and drinking sessions, were put on Australia Post credit cards.

Australia Post confirmed it had agreed to pay for Ms Holgate’s accommodation costs in Melbourne for six months from her start date of October 2017. She later submitted a request to extend this for a further three months, which the Remuneration Tribunal approved.

Ms Holgate was paid $2.6m in 2019, including an $830,000 bonus, but took a voluntary pay cut and had her bonus payment withheld this year — taking home $1.6m instead.

Her predecessor, former National Australia Bank executive Ahmed Fahour, was paid $6.8m in the 2017 financial year, with an additional $4m in long-term incentives from 2015 and 2016.

The Australian understands Ms Holgate — who has a family home in Sydney’s wealthy harbourside suburb of Mosman and a $5m Pearl Beach getaway on the Central Coast — had a “best room” rate at the Hyatt and, being a regular guest, was often upgraded to the executive suite.

“The Remuneration Tribunal agreed to Australia Post providing accommodation support for Ms Holgate up to a maximum of $34,500 for a period of up to six months,” a Tribunal spokeswoman told The Australian.

“The Tribunal subsequently agreed to the Australia Post board’s extending the period of accommodation support, provided that the original approved cap of $34,500 was not exceeded.”

When Australia Post announced her appointment in mid-2017, Ms Holgate said she was planning to buy a house in East Melbourne, close to the MCG.

But in an interview with the Financial Review’s Boss magazine in October 2018, Ms Holgate spoke about how she chose to live at the Hyatt, where she did not have to worry about domestic duties and could just focus on her job.

Ms Holgate said she knew all the staff at the Grand Hyatt and it was “like home” during her four days a week in Melbourne.

“I’m not allowed to tell you the rate but the Grand Hyatt have given me a great rate and actually I could not rent a one-bedroom apartment around here (Melbourne CBD) for that,” she said.

“At first I thought I would hate it and everyone said ‘Don’t do it!’. But it’s fantastic. I got home at 9.30 last night and I wanted something to eat, and they made me a cheese toastie,” she said.

“I want my laundry done, I call them in the morning and say ‘Could you do my laundry today?’.”

Illustration: Johannes Leak

An Australia Post spokeswoman declined to comment on questions about Ms Holgate’s stay at the Grant Hyatt, citing the ongoing government investigation.

An external law firm will support the investigation into Australia Post’s governance arrangements and corporate culture.

“The investigation will determine whether Australia Post has expended money ethically and acted in a manner expected of a Government Business Enterprise,” terms of reference for the inquiry, released Monday, read.

It will examine the “proper use and management of public resources, in relation to gifts, rewards and expenses, including personal expenses of executives”.

It will also look at the role of Australia Post’s then chairman, John Stanhope, and Ms Holgate in purchasing the watches and “whether there are other instances in Australia Post inconsistent with appropriate behaviour … that require further investigation”.

“The Australian public expects Government Business Enterprises to behave ethically and adhere to high standards in the expenditure of money,” Communications Minister Paul Fletcher said.

“The Morrison government shares those expectations … (and) will consider the findings of the investigation.”

The Cartier watches were gifted to the four staff in October 2018 as a reward for clinching a deal with three of the country’s largest banks — NAB, Commonwealth Bank and Westpac — which was worth $66m to Australia Post.

Bank@Post allows access to banking services at post offices.

Angela Cramp, executive director of the LPO Group representing one-third of Australia Post’s licensees, said Mr Morrison had overstepped in demanding Ms Holgate be stood down.

“The Prime Minister has no right to even comment on the job the chief executive of Australia Post does,” she said.