Former Australia Post CEO Christine Holgate has revealed what may have been the real reason she was “humiliated” out of her job.  

Ms Holgate sensationally stood down from her role at Australia Post last year, after an investigation was launched into the purchase of $12,000 worth of Cartier watches as a reward for four senior managers.

She got her first real opportunity to defend herself at a Senate hearing this week, and came very much prepared. 

Ms Holgate leaked excerpts of a $1.32 million secret report during her appearance, revealing what she says was at the heart of her falling out with the Morrison government.

In July 2019, the minister for communications Paul Fletcher and then-finance minister Mathias Cormann announced; “The Australian government has appointed management consulting firm BCG to conduct a review of Australia Post’s strategy to operate as a sustainable and fit-for-purpose service provider for the longer term”.

That review was never made public, but Ms Holgate says it made suggestions that went against the strategy of the Australia Post board. 

It called for parts of the postal service to be cut up and sold off, including “a full or partial divestiture of the parcels business”.

The BCG report laid out a five-step plan that encouraged AusPost to; “take a range of steps to optimise AusPost’s capital structure including exploring potential divestitures of specific subsidiaries (e.g. StarTrack Road Express, SecurePay)”. 

The report also called for the implementation of “a set of near-term efficiencies ... across AusPost’s business lines and corporate functions”.

It suggested measures to “streamline the post office network” by “either closing 106 unprofitable metro post offices to give metro residents access to at least one post office within 2.5km. Or closing 190 unprofitable metro post offices to give metro residents access to at least one post office within 3.5km.”

Finally, it called on the board to “set out a path to reform the letters business, including changes to service standards ... (e.g. to three days per week)”, and to “establish a clear process to guide AusPost’s strategic direction”.

Ms Holgate said the BCG report missed major growth opportunities from ecommerce, parcels and revenue, including the $220 million Bank@Post deal that led to her issuing  luxury watch gifts. 

She described the deal as a “lifeline” for threatened post offices and franchisees, which the BCG report might have seen closed down.

Ms Holgate said her decision to turbo-charge the parcel business, rather than sell it off, helped put Australia Post back on a firm financial ground during COVID-19. Australia Post reported a 15.5 per cent revenue increase to $4.3 billion after the “strongest parcel volumes in the organisation’s history” in its first half results in February this year.

Her decision was aided by the government loosening restrictions that required Australia Post to deliver letters every day. This altogether helped AusPost retrain 2,000 motorcycle posties to deliver parcels in vans, saving many jobs. 

Ms Holgate said the original BCG report went against almost everything Australia Post was planning. 

The report was modified and re-released to the board, but it retained views that were also held by parts of the government. Ms Holgate said she had become a blockage.

“The BCG review did not support management’s view of having a strategy to grow the business or remaining sustainable by leveraging our infrastructure to carry parcels and letters whilst building new services, including extending financial services,” she told the Senate.

“We believed this strategy would protect community services, maintain jobs and build a new legacy for Australia Post to serve all Australians for decades to come, whilst remaining viable.

“BCG essentially argued it was too optimistic and risky, even though the business was ahead of its targets for the year when the review commenced and the organisation had only lost money once in its history.

“BCG put forward four reform paths for consideration, which focused on cutting costs and driving efficiencies. Initially these reform paths started from driving efficiencies in the corporate centre, to significantly reducing letter services nationally, increasing prices, closing post offices, divesting of the parcels business and restricting financial and other services.

“As an executive team, we committed to be more efficient in the corporate centre, but we pushed back on the need and the ability to cut back the services and jobs as they proposed and the significant disruption a parcels divestiture would cause. Disappointingly the BCG review did not significantly explore opportunities to grow, such as extending financial services.”

Communications Minister Paul Fletcher says there are no plans to partially privatise Australia Post, as recommended by the secret report.

Ms Holgate also suggested gender played a role in her resignation. 

“The simple truth is, I was bullied out of my job,” she said.

“This is a day the chairman of Australia Post and the other men involved in what happened to me will be held to account.”

She questioned why Prime Minister Scott Morrison is willing to keep men accused of “terrible atrocities” against women in his party, while “humiliating” her publicly.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison denied the claims of sexist treatment. 

“I don’t accept that there were any gender-related issues here at all,” Mr Morrison said following Ms Holgate's appearance.

He said the opposition had backed him the day he publicly called her out in Parliament. 

“That day in Parliament was quite a heated day and the Labor Party was calling for her resignation,” the PM said. 

Some Labor figures at the hearing defended Ms Holgate, but the same party also played a central role in revealing the luxury watches and other bonuses last year. 

Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese called her position untenable at the time, but now says this was only because “Scott Morrison’s comments in parliament made that position untenable”. 

“Scott Morrison effectively sacked Christine Holgate on the floor of parliament,” he said.