More than 400 years ago, English bishop Joseph Hall famously declared: “A reputation once broken may possibly be repaired, but the world will always keep their eyes on the spot where the crack was.”
The Christine Holgate debacle has seriously damaged quite a few reputations. Some may never be fully repaired, and the world will certainly not forget anytime soon.
For an issue which began over a relatively trivial matter, the list of candidates for reputational damage is long and shameful.
Not just Holgate herself and Australia Post chairman Lucio Di Bartolomeo, but also Prime Minister Scott Morrison; government ministers who jumped on the bandwagon of shame; opposition politicians including Anthony Albanese who couldn’t resist joining the pile-on; plus of course the media and commentators who helped inflate the issue to the biggest daylight robbery since a contractor at the Perth Mint stuffed gold bars and coins down his trousers.
With the current Senate inquiry focussed almost entirely on who knew what when, and whether the former Australia Post CEO jumped or was pushed, the ripples of reputational damage continue to spread.
But this highly politicised process seems to have lost sight of the triggering event. Let’s not forget that after the CEO approved the purchase of luxury watches as a reward for some senior executives, a subsequent government investigation, led by the Finance and Communications Departments and assisted by Maddocks law firm, cleared her of “dishonesty, fraud, corruption or intentional misuse” of taxpayer funds.
However, the report also concluded that her action “may be inconsistent with public expectations”. As Holgate herself said at the time, “I had done nothing wrong in this matter, other than failing the ‘pub test’ for some.”
Behaviour which is undeniably ‘inconsistent with public expectations” — or simply “fails the pub test” — seems to be a regular event in politics over recent months, but it so far hasn’t warranted the full court press of a parliamentary inquiry. In fact, some of the alleged offenders are still drawing comfortable government salaries.
So what lessons can be drawn from the affair of Christine Holgate and those luxury watches?
The first and most obvious is that when party politics is driving the process, and when the central player is an articulate and successful woman, nothing can stop the personal damage.
Secondly, “public expectation” has become little more than a rubric for whatever suits the political and media agenda.
Finally, and importantly for issue and crisis management generally, it is clear that once a story like this starts to run facts provide little to no real protection for those involved.
The first government-led investigation determined that Holgate had basically done nothing wrong. And Australia Post chairman Di Bartolomeo has told the current inquiry she was treated “abysmally”; that in his view she was good at her job; and that the purchase of the watches “was an error of judgment made in good faith from an otherwise highly effective CEO”.
Sadly, none of that seems to matter and none of that makes the headlines. The truth is that when political reputations and the voting majority in the House are at stake, facts become dispensable and the reputation of a “highly effective CEO” is just collateral damage which will likely never be fully repaired.
Tony Jaques is an expert on issue and crisis management and risk communication. He is CEO of Melbourne-based consultancy Issue Outcomes and his latest book is Crisis Counsel: Navigating Legal and Communication Conflict.
The gift of luxury watches was mistake: the optics are terrible. Had the executives involved received 100 times the watch value as a cash bonus, no one would have blinked an eye, just as we happily allow LNP politicians to enjoy a Super scheme unrivalled in its generosity while they hypocritically work to undermine the scheme open to other Australians.
Agreed, but we have remembered for centuries “Let them eat cake” because it was such a devastating smear. It is astounding that someone who inhabits the stratospheric levels of corporate wisdom would be so crassly unaware of the similar emotional impact of “let them wear Cartier”. Of course the response was out of all proportion to the monetary value–a trifling sum to those whose salary is decided by others who exactly resemble themselves. And of course a simple money bonus would have slipped under the radar. And of course it was an excuse for politicians to play the outrage card. Yet, if CEOs are so unaware, maybe they don’t really deserve the level of salary.
Do you realize she took a pay cut of about $M4.5 to do the job at Aus Post compared to what she was on at Blackmores.
She took the job on to attempt to make Aus Post a strong and vibrant business.
She was well aware of the watches issue. But other employees who knew how much work these 4 did and the extra value to the business could see the management did appreciate their efforts.
So where does that leave the multi million dollar bonuses for the (male) execs of the under performing NBN
You know, if she had just purchased a block of land from a Liberal party donor for about ten times market value, on the basis that the Post Office might need to use it some time in the future, there would have been no scandal, and if it was the right Liberal party donor, she may have even been embraced as a coalition heroine.
Instead rewarding executives for putting together a deal that helped the bottom line of Australia Post and licensed Post Office owners became an intolerable scandal that allegedly doesn’t pass the pub test. Since the Leppington triangle land waste of $30 odd million, the sports rorts affair and the subsequent open bragging of pork barrelling by too many of our current politicians does seem to get a pass, I am guessing it’s a pretty piss-poor pub.
Excellent!
Great article that does what few seem to be able to do. It objectively seeks to understand who is at fault here (and elsewhere) rather than just knee jerk blaming party x and gender x.
Thanks for making sense of the sympathetic media treatment of Holgate, whose moaning sense of entitlement is becoming more difficult to stomach by the day.
Notwithstanding, in true corporate Australian style, she’ll like emerge from the the ashes better remunerated that ever.
Cue soft interview and happy family snaps with one of our useless media outlets sometime in the next few months.
You are so wrong and you are completely missing the underlying reason for the all that has happened.
It is about the Boston Consulting Group’s (which is where the alleged predator Alan TURDGE slothfully worked before entering parliament) report which was rehashed from their 2015 effort. It basically said that parts (ie parcels) of Aus Post should be sold off. This would have led to the closure and destruction of about 2,500 locally franchised post outlets around Australia. These are small business and have skin in the game as they paid big money to buy them ($B4 all up). Holgate disagreed with this and set about working with the banks so Aus Post could become agents for them as the banks had left town. With a lot of hard work on top of their normal jobs and overtime ie weekends etc a team of 4 got the 3 big banks and a lot of smaller finance organizations to sign up. Hence a huge ($M220) income increase for Aus Post and a life line to its local post offices.
The then chairman said he would like to reward the team and suggested a special gift which they would be reminded of the effort they put in. So watches were chosen and paid for. The then Chairman and the financial board member gave full approval for this in 2018.
This effort has enraged a number of the hard right Knuckle dragers in the Liberal party as they want to sell it TOLL or IPEC as part of their neanderthal thinking about privatization.
Hence the unfettered rage outburst about the watches by Morrison in parliament in 2019. She did not do what she was told by him so she will pay!!!!!!!!!!!!
The owners of the LPO’s are on her side and want her back as they have a secure income now.
The issue about tax payers money is also misleading as Aus Post under its 1989 legislation is a Private Company whose share holders are the government and the LPO owners.
In fact the Prime Minister has no say over the business only the 2 ministers of finance and communications. They can direct but only with a meeting the board and there is a mandated process.
The government has put no tax payers money into Aus Post but rather taxation taxes its earnings and those of the LPO’s.
You are a fool if you believe this is over 4 watches.
It is about a number of people in parliament including the Morrison who think they have the power to do what they please. That they are the font of all wisdom and their particular brand of politics and wisdom is the best.
It is interesting to note that Mr COALMINE Matt Canavan sat in on the senate inquiry in the hope he could take her down. On hearing and reading her submission he backed off because he realized that she would have eaten him for breakfast
Just do not believe everything you read or hear even on this site.
Wayne, you sound like you might be an insider, but I think readers are entitled to a broader perspective.
And i thought she was sacked simply because she was a woman.
1 I believe that the suggestion came out of a meeting with all the players so who first mentioned it maybe moot.
2 The bonuses were more than half deferred and were for their normal work not the extra out of hours project dumped on them.
3 I am not sure what you mean but I take it that you mean whole focus by morrison, albanese, the press and others.
Morrison went off because she had not done what he wanted in destroying Aus Post.
4 I have worked for 44 years at a number of companies and many run lower salaries and larger bonuses policies so that they do not pay for on going annual leave, super, and other entitlements. Gifts are only FBT taxed. Dinners were usually for a large group achievement and are usually attached to a conference etc.
From what I understand the idea of the watches was that every-time the recipient looked at it this would remind them of the hard work and recognition put in. I still treasure a Pulasr watch I was given for doing something special for a customer.
Sorry Peter I forgot to add one other thing. A broad perspective is absolutely needed for everything. It can only be had if the information is honest. There are forces at work here who want to smash up Aus Post up purely for ideological reasons and not is what is good for the Asstraia .
I live in the country and the local shop is one of these LPO’s and without the money from the banking services it would have closed and the nearest LPO is an hours drive. This my perspective.