Senate inquiry calls for Scott Morrison to apologise to Christine Holgate and Australia Post chair to resign
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A Senate committee has called on the Australia Post chair to resign and demanded that Scott Morrison apologise over the treatment of the former managing director Christine Holgate.
The communications minister, Paul Fletcher, should also be referred to the auditor general for investigation over his “instruction” to the Australia Post board that it stand Holgate aside, according to the Senate’s environment and communications references committee.
The committee’s report, published on Wednesday, examines the acrimonious departure of Holgate from Australia Post after Morrison and senior ministers denounced revelations that senior executives had been gifted Cartier watchers as a reward for finalising a banking deal.
Related: Ex-Australia Post boss Christine Holgate ‘disappointed’ government won’t meet mediation deadline
The committee – chaired by the Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young – made 25 recommendations, including that the Australia Post chair, Lucio Di Bartolomeo, resign.
The report suggested Di Bartolomeo should take that step “in acceptance of his responsibility for the organisation’s failings with respect to the Holgate matter, the veracity of his evidence provided to the committee, his capacity to defend the independence of Australia Post and the lack of effective robust policies and financial oversight processes in place throughout his tenure”.
The committee also recommended that Morrison, together with senior ministers who have responsibility for Australia Post and the organisation’s board, “apologise to Ms Holgate for denying her the legal principles of procedural fairness and natural justice in her departure from Australia Post”.
The report described Morrison’s comment in question time last year that Holgate should stand aside “or she can go” as an “improper threat”.
“Indeed, this intervention by the prime minster suggests a lack of respect for due process and procedural fairness as well as a concerning double standard when contrasted with the standards of conduct and procedural principles applied to members of the cabinet,” the report said.
“The treatment of Ms Holgate is indicative of a wider pattern of behaviour towards women in workplaces, including parliament.
“As both an employer and legislator of workplace laws, the Australian government must set an example. Its practices must be beyond reproach and it can no longer treat women, and workers more generally, as if they are disposable.”
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Morrison has previously refused to apologise to Holgate, saying it was not his “intention” for his “strong language” to impact the former Australia Post chief executive, while rejecting her claim her gender played some role in her treatment.
Wednesday’s report also recommended that the solicitor general “investigate the legality of the instruction from shareholder ministers to the Australia Post board on 22 October 2020 that the board should stand Ms Holgate aside while an investigation takes place into the purchase of the watches”.
The report said Di Bartolomeo had used different language at various points during the Senate inquiry as to whether the government had “directed” the board to stand Holgate aside, or merely requested that it do so.
But no formal direction was issued under section 49 of the Australian Postal Corporation Act 1989, according to advice from the Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Delegated Legislation.
The new report therefore recommended that the government refer to the auditor general the actions of Fletcher on 22 October 2020, “in particular his ‘instruction’ to the Australia Post board that it stand Ms Holgate aside”.
That investigation, it said, should look into “any breaches of relevant legislation and policies of Australia Post”.
Other recommendations include that the federal government review bonuses and rewards across corporate commonwealth entities; restructure the Australia Post board and restore its independence; and rule out privatising Australia Post or any of its services, including parcels.
Arguing against secrecy, the committee also called on the government to immediately release the Boston Consulting Group’s review of Australia Post’s financial sustainability. The recommendations were backed by the Labor members of the committee.
Related: Christine Holgate engages leading lawyers over Australia Post dispute
But the document included a dissenting report from Liberal and Nationals senators David Fawcett and Bridget McKenzie, who said the Senate inquiry had become “a highly politicised exercise”.
Responding to the recommendation that Morrison apologise, the dissenting report said the claim that Holgate was denied procedural fairness and natural justice was “contested”.
Countering the recommendation that Di Bartolomeo resign, Fawcett and McKenzie said the committee had heard evidence “that the current chair sought to work in a constructive manner with Ms Holgate during what was a fast-moving sequence of events being played out in the spotlight of the media”.
Fawcett and McKenzie dismissed the claim that the Australia Post Board lacked independence and also argued the auditor general’s jurisdiction did not extend to reviews of ministerial conduct.
But they supported the idea of the government publishing “a publicly releasable version” of the Boston Consulting Group’s review.
The committee report also included additional comments from the senator Pauline Hanson, who was largely supportive of the main recommendations. She went further by arguing Di Bartolomeo should “be removed from the board”.
In a brief statement responding to the report, Fletcher said: “The government has consistently acknowledged that Ms Holgate was an effective chief executive of Australia Post and I congratulate her on her new role at Global Express.”
Di Bartolomeo issued a statement late on Wednesday saying Australia Post had treated the Senate inquiry seriously and had also “implemented considerable reforms”. The organisation would “focus on the future”.
“Ms Holgate was a very good chief executive for Australia Post and the organisation wishes her well for the future,” Di Bartolomeo said.
“Australia Post remains engaged in a mediation process with Ms Holgate around the circumstances of her departure from the organisation.”