Australia’s highest-paid public servant quits job
Fahour says resignation was not prompted by public outcry
Australia’s highest-paid public servant announced his resignation on Thursday, two weeks after a revelation that he made 5.6 million Australian dollars ($4.3 million, Dh15.8 million) last year sparked a public furore and created a political headache for the government.
Australia Post managing director Ahmad Fahour said he was quitting the national mail service on the same day that the government-owned corporation posted a profit of A$131 million for the six months through December. The figure was a big jump from the A$16 million profit the corporation made in the corresponding period a year earlier.
The Lebanese-born former banker, 50, said he was leaving because Australia Post had transformed from a traditional mail service to a parcel and e-commerce business during his seven years at the helm.
His resignation was not caused by the widespread public outrage at his high salary, he said.
“Clearly, this has been a very difficult and emotional decision for me and my family. But I’ve come to the conclusion that the timing is right. As the half-year results show, the transformation has worked,” Fahour said.
Fahour said he would leave Australia Post in July following the announcement of his successor.
The government later announced that an independent tribunal that decides the salaries of lawmakers, judges and government department bosses will be given power to rule on how much Fahour’s replacement is worth.
While Australia Post’s board of directors will continue to decide the managing director’s salary package, it will now have to persuade the Remuneration Tribunal that the pay is consistent with what other senior public servants are paid.
Earlier this month, a Senate committee revealed Fahour’s pay despite objections from Australia Post that making it public could damage the corporation’s brand.
His A$4.4 million salary plus an A$1.2 million bonus in the last fiscal year was more than 10 times the prime minister’s salary of A$507,000.
By contrast, US Postal Service chief executive and postmaster general Megan Brennan’s salary was $286,137 last year.
Fahour said that Australia Post should not be compared to the loss-making US Postal Service.