Your money, their rules. Super funds support Israel war machine
Australian industrial super funds are investing in companies involved in the Gaza genocide and unions are not demanding a halt to investments. Andrew Gardiner reports.
Protected by regulations Putting a member’s “best financial interests” ahead of ethical, environmental or social concerns, the vast majority of Australia’s industrial super funds continue to pour money into projects linked to the destruction of much of Gaza, the dispossession of the West Bank and the bombing of Israel’s neighbours.
One MWM The research confirmed that only two of Australia’s 20 sector super funds have made modest changes to their investment portfolios. The remaining 18 continue to invest in Israel’s war machine, financing companies such as Australian Super, Elbit Systems (drones), ICL Group (white phosphorus) and Palantir (software for AI/weapons systems).
This is despite the IDF re-using banned white phosphorus in Lebanon, where Australian super money is deposited.
The two divested funds (Vision Super and HESTA) still have some money tied up in Israeli projects in Gaza and the West Bank. “HESTA and Vision divested themselves of Israeli banks (but) still have money in companies listed in the UN database operating in Israel’s illegal settlements,” said Molly Coburn of the Australian Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN). MWM.
White phosphorus, blood red money. Australian Super profits from genocide
Activist Jill Sparrow says even these modest changes can be quietly reversed “as soon as we look the other way.” “Disposal is not arranged and forget (and)
There’s a lot of money to be made by dropping bombs,
“That’s why super funds can be so strongly tempted,” he said.
If you’re in a syndicate partner industrial super fund and have a genocide issue, you may be out of luck on the socially conscious investing front. Unions regularly divert members’ retirement funds into their mutual funds, with little regard for the social or environmental impact when invested.
Members of the Australian Services Union (ASU) have taken matters into their own hands regarding the disposal of the super fund. IMAGE: ASU for Palestine.
Ethics ignored
Under the 2005 rule changes, union members can transfer their retirement funds to private pension funds. Australian Ethics And Future GroupHe stays away from the companies whose work led to the massacre in Gaza. These funds show it can be done, so why haven’t industry super funds done it?
Instead, under pressure from Zionist lobbyists, Labor-aligned unions are happy to send their members’ money to super funds that help Israel’s war effort, financing what the UN calls “a”. moral taint on all of us.”
How the Israeli war lobby is forcing regulators and employers to fire Australians who criticize the genocide in Gaza.
like many others ACTU member United Workers Union (UWU), with 151,000 members, talking a good game He criticized Israel’s actions in Gaza, but did not mention his role as a supervisor of its members. MWMEfforts to establish how much effort the union has put into lobbying its own super funds, HostPlus, Australian Super and HESTA, have yielded no results.
What we learned from UWU members was that in several states in early 2024, a grassroots motion that included divestment was passed at the council level and then “soft blocked” by union officials who agreed with the motion. Later that year, a more formal “Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions” (BDS) motion, which would have required super funds to invest in real terms, was rejected.
“Social issues are bread and butter issues and funding war is a dead end. Our leadership on the boards of HESTA and Australian Super (must) stop hiding behind ‘fiduciary duties’ to fund death and destruction,” UWU delegate (early childhood education) Nicki Toupin said. MWM.
Fiduciary duties
Fiduciary duty does not only provide protection to unions that put profits first. “In the interest of members” is repeatedly stated by super funds whenever there is pressure to withdraw.
Supporting their arguments is jurisprudential precedent, which will raise the ire of Australian republicans: Cowan v Scargill, a UK decision dating back to the Thatcher years (1985), helped redefine a member’s “best interests” as “best financial interests” (emphasis added). 2021 changes to fiduciary duty in Australia to reflect this is the new emphasis.
How do you define “best financial interests”? wouldn’t it be stable Middle East Will we benefit the world economy by providing our super funds with genocidal-free investment opportunities?
“Horrific war crimes, crimes against humanity and devastating environmental impacts mean you can argue that the financial interests of super fund members are being undermined by investments that support the Israeli military,” said Claire Parfitt, Senior Lecturer in Political Economy at the University of Sydney. MWM.
It seems our super funds and their investment managers are ignoring these arguments in search of a quick return; Their investments in the Israeli war machine are turning instability in the Middle East into a self-fulfilling prophecy.
“Of course there are equal and opposite rules against super funds investing in projects.”maintain the situation It is created by Israel’s illegal presence in the occupied Palestinian territories.” But it seems some rules are more equal than others; Successive Australian governments have barely lifted a finger to enforce international sanctions. court decisionshuman rights obligations and social issues (ESG), which could eventually create problems.
To quote a famous movie line, “A foul is not a foul unless there is a referee. blows his whistleFailure to meet international and ethical obligations means super funds can continue to hide behind a “fiduciary duty”; At least 18 of our 20 sector funds do just that.
From the Vietnam war to the Gaza genocide. Where have all the unions gone?
An Adelaide-based Media Studies graduate with an MA in Social Policy, I was an editor covering current affairs, local government and sport for a variety of publications before deciding to change careers in 2002.
