Divestment as a powerful tactic

Environment

Divestment as a powerful tactic Our universities are under attack not just from successive governments led by the major parties, but from the powerful corporate interests pulling their strings. But divestment can be used as a tool to benefit both the environment and our sector. We saw the power of corporate interests when Kevin Rudd tried to introduce a reasonable tax on the mining of non-renewable resources, similar to the tax on oil extraction by the Norwegian Government which has resulted in a massive ‘sovereign wealth fund’ for that country’s future. In Australia, however, the mining industry outspent the Government tenfold, funding a $22 million advertising campaign against the tax, which dwarfed the Government’s spending on promoting the tax. The tax was watered down considerably to appease the mining interests, and Rudd was deposed not long afterwards. Another example of ‘democracy deficit’ was the NSW Government permitting unconventional gas exploration in the Lismore local government area despite a 2011 finding that 87 per cent of the population opposes it. Yet our universities, our superannuation fund Unisuper, and many of us as individuals continue to invest in those very corporations driving the neo-liberal and neo-conservative agendas, corporations which influence politics through lobbying and funding political parties, as well as supporting conservative think-tanks and mass media. We have money in the ‘Big Four’ banks – Westpac, ANZ, Commonwealth and NAB,

who directly financially support the major political parties and are highly unethical, funding numerous nefarious activities in the third world, such as land grabs, illegal logging and child labour. Most Australian banks have provided loans to nuclear weapons companies at some stage since 2008, with some universities also implicated. Unisuper contributes to climate change by investing directly in the divisive, polluting coal seam gas industry through Origin Energy, and through its investments in the big four banks who heavily support fossil fuels. As a union we need to think strategically about divestment. It is a powerful tool: it was one of the major tactics, for example, in the successful international campaign against apartheid.

Divestment and Unisuper We can engage in divestment individually, by getting our money out of the major banks. We are obliged to use Unisuper, one of Australia’s largest super funds, with more than 388,000 member accounts and $49.7 billion in net funds under management. However, we can roll over our super into funds such as FutureSuper (which has no investment in fossil fuels), and ensure that our remaining Unisuper account is set to Sustainable Balanced, Sustainable High Growth or Global Environmental Opportunities. At the national level, we can use the NTEU’s position on the Unisuper board to pressure for divestment, and stronger ethical and green options (which are showing a tendency to do better financially anyway, whereas many fossil fuel investments have stalled or are going backwards and may become ‘stranded assets’ ). At a Branch level, we can encourage our members to divest.

This divestment also aids other movements, leaving them more able and inclined to support our struggles. Some universities, such as ANU and, to a lesser extent, Sydney University, are already going down the divestment from fossil fuels path, despite ANU copping a great deal of flak (which actually publicised the issue). However, as Tom Swann argued in the last edition of the Advocate, our universities are lagging well behind rather than leading this fast-growing movement and ‘the biggest debate of our time’. If one person divests and re-invests ethically and for environmental sustainability, it’s a positive change. But if all the above actions were to occur in a strategic way, we could shift billions of dollars – and therefore a great deal of power – away from neo-liberal and neo-conservative vested interests, and towards businesses that value and support the tertiary sector.

University divestment

Marty Branagan, Convenor of Peace Studies, University of New England

Also at Branch level, but coordinated nationally by the National Office, we can pressure our universities to divest.

www.tai.org.au/unilead

page 34 • NTEU ADVOCATE • vol. 22 no. 3 • November 2015 • www.nteu.org.au/advocate

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