World News – AU – Australia Post spent $ 12,000 on Cartier watches

Australia Post spent $ 12,000 on luxury watches, celebrating the government’s controversial deal to provide banking services at post offices

Facing Thursday’s Senate Budget Hearings, Managing Director Christine Holgate revealed that four senior employees each received a $ 3,000 Cartier watch after finalizing the Bank @ Post deal with Commonwealth Bank, Westpac and NAB

Ms Holgate defended the October 2018 purchases, authorized by her and Australia Post chairman Lucio Di Bartolomeo, saying taxpayer funds had not been used

Labor Senator Kimberly Kitching disputed this claim, pointing out that the company was owned by the federal government

« There were a small number of senior officials who did excessive work and they received an award from the president, myself and on behalf of the board, » Ms Holgate told Senators

« We are a commercial organization It was a recommendation from our president that these people be rewarded »

She said Australia Post did not receive taxpayer funding and the gifts were appropriate for a business venture

« We do not receive government funding We are a commercial organization It was a recommendation from our president that these people be rewarded »

Ms Holgate and CFO Rodney Boys couldn’t tell if corporate credit cards had been used to purchase the watches or if the benefits tax had been declared

Gary Starr, executive director of the Australia Post, told the committee he was not wearing the watch given to him during his testimony to the committee on Thursday He said he didn’t give the watch to anyone else, including his wife

Ms Holgate has been forced to defend the Australia Post following a series of recent controversies, including threats to call police over delays in the delivery of Pauline Hanson-branded stubby holders to residents of the Melbourne’s locked public housing towers in September

Service obligations have been weakened due to the COVID-19 crisis, which has allowed Australia Post to suspend some priority mail deliveries and deliver post every other day in metropolitan areas Some interstate deliveries will take up to five days

Australia Post posted a pre-tax profit of $ 53 million in 2019-20, with Ms Holgate agreeing to a 20% pay cut and bonuses vetoed by the board She was paid around $ 1.6million last fiscal year

In 2018, Ms Holgate accused ANZ boss Shayne Elliott of misleading the public about a dispute over fees over the banking plan, as part of an expansion of financial services in the Australia Post outlets, including regional and remote areas

The ABC, Westpac and National Australia Bank have each agreed to an annual community access fee of $ 22 million, in addition to a fee of up to $ 3 per transaction, to be part of service, but ANZ refused to sign up for fear it would subsidize competing companies

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The luxury watches were donated to senior executives who struck a deal to expand banking services at post offices

Australia Post, Christine Holgate, Cartier