Canberra
The boss of Australia Post has resigned after authorising a A$20,000 (£10,500; $14,000) gift of luxury watches to four employees as a work reward. Christine Holgate, chief executive of the national postal service since 2017, had been strongly criticised for what many saw as a waste of public money.
The gifts of Cartier watches in 2018 were revealed by a parliament inquiry last month, prompting an investigation. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he had been ‘appalled’ by the spending.
Speaking last month, Mr Morrison said the British business executive ‘should go’ from her role. ‘Every dollar that goes to Australia Post is managed on behalf of Australian taxpayers and it should be done in a way that respects the taxpayers,’ he said.
Australia Post is run by an independent board but is owned by the Australian government on behalf of taxpayers. Australia records zero Covid-19 cases
On Monday, Ms Holgate announced she had offered her immediate resignation to the board. She said she wanted to avoid being a ‘significant distraction’ for the mail service before the busy Christmas season. ‘I have made this difficult decision to leave to enable Australia Post to be able to fully focus on delivering for our customers,’ she said in a statement. Ms Holgate has consistently defended the gifts as a reward for performance, saying ‘you need to thank and reward positive behaviours’.—Agencies
