'Optics not enough': Australia Post boss Christine Holgate digs in

Lawyers for Australia Post boss Christine Holgate say she has not been officially informed of a four-week suspension over lavish corporate expenses, questioning the legal basis of a government-ordered investigation.

Lawyers for Christine Holgate say letters to the Australia Post board have been ignored. Alex Ellinghausen.

"In that time Ms Holgate has not had any proper notification that she has been stood down from her role, nor has she been informed as to why she should be stood down, nor has she had any communication regarding the investigation into Australia Post from either the board or the government.

The detailed terms of reference put pressure on the entire Australia Post board, requiring an explanation for the circumstances of the watch purchases and hospitality, including dinner parties hosted by Ms Holgate and corporate boxes at sporting events.

He said the difficulty for Australia Post was that it was a government-owned corporation and had two shareholder ministers, Mr Fletcher and Finance Minister Mathias Cormann.

A spokeswoman said Australia Post had been supporting Ms Holgate