Australia Post's chair has hit back at former chief executive Christine Holgate, rejecting her claim that she was "unlawfully" stood down over the Cartier watches scandal.
Key points:
Christine Holgate resigned as Australia Post chief executive following a scandal over Cartier watches
She has publicly attacked the organisation's chair, Lucio Di Bartolomeo, accusing him of "unlawfully" standing her down
Mr Di Bartolomeo has now responded, saying he wants to "correct" Ms Holgate's claims
Ms Holgate resigned last year, weeks after an investigation was ordered into Australia Post's purchase of luxury watches, worth thousands of dollars each, as a reward for executives who helped to secure a lucrative deal.
In a submission to a Senate inquiry, Ms Holgate on Tuesday accused chairman Lucio Di Bartolomeo of forcing her out of the job "for no justified reason," arguing he had abandoned her to a "media firestorm" and lied to Parliament about the circumstances of her departure.
Mr Di Bartolomeo has now released a statement through Australia Post's website saying he wanted to "correct" some of the points attributed to Ms Holgate.
"Ms Holgate claims that she was unlawfully stood down. That is not correct," he said.
"On 22 October 2020, Ms Holgate agreed with me to stand aside from her role pending the outcome of the Shareholder Departments' investigation and any further actions taken by Australia Post.
"My objective was, subject to the findings of the investigation, to have Ms Holgate back performing her role as soon as possible."
A report prepared by law firm Maddocks later found there was "no indication of dishonesty, fraud, corruption or intentional misuse of Australia Post funds by any individual involved in the matters relating to the purchase and gifting of the Cartier watches".
Ms Holgate's submission said she offered her resignation, following "the most harrowing 10 days" of her career, before being sent a counter-offer by Mr Di Bartolomeo which would have prevented her from working for 12 months.
"That is not correct," Mr Di Bartolomeo said.
"The existing provisions of Ms Holgate's contract of employment contained non-compete provisions, as is common for such senior executive roles.
"These provisions apply only to working for a competitor for a period of six months from the end of Ms Holgate's employment – and therefore expire on 2 May 2021."
Mr Di Bartolomeo also said in "recognition of the very unusual and difficult circumstances", Ms Holgate was provided with "extensive and ongoing support" of her wellbeing.
The Senate inquiry is holding a public hearing next week and is due to report by the end of the month.
Mr Di Bartolomeo said Australia Post was looking forward to appearing before the hearing and was considering whether it would make a further submission.
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2021-04-07 09:59:34Z
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