First Nations object super fund gas investing

Yasmine Raso

Senior Journalist, Financial Newswire

27 April 2023

Traditional Owners of three First Nations have filed human rights complaints against Australia’s top 20 superannuation funds over their investing of hundreds of millions of dollars in multiple gas projects.

The complaints have been lodged by Equity Generation Lawyers with assistance from Market Forces and highlighted that investors like super funds are obligated under international human rights standards to “prevent adverse human rights impacts of companies” they invest in.

Money from AustralianSuper, REST Super and Hostplus members, among others, has been invested in oil and gas company Santos to fund its Barossa and Narrabri gas projects.

The Traditional Owners have expressed their deep connection to the lands, seas and communities where the projects are based in the Tiwi Islands in Larrakia country near Darwin and the sacred Gomeroi/Gamilaraay Pilliga Forests in northern New South Wales. Santos’ projects risk “spills, pipeline eruptions and devastating impacts on the local environment including clean water, precious wildlife, threatened marsupials, endangered birds, dugong, turtles and other sea animals”.

“This is a message to superannuation funds from the Tiwi people. Santos is reckless and unsafe in their operations. Their projects are unsafe for the environment, Indigenous traditional owners and residents, the people that work for them and landowners,” Antonia Burke, Malawu clan member, Indigenous Human Rights Advocate and Campaign Leader from the Tiwi Islands, said.

“There is so much evidence to prove Santos’ inability to mitigate risks to the environment; they have a trail of destruction across this entire country.”

“The Billiga Forest holds both tangible and intangible cultural heritage that needs to be protected for the cultural values held by our Gamilaroi/Gomeroi people. We will not allow it to be damaged or desecrated to a point where it will not return to its natural state,” Karra Kinchela, Gomeroi/Gamilaraay Traditional Owner, said.

“With at least 90 cultural sites, the most abundant wildlife and biodiversity there is no other place like it in Australia.”

Will van de Pol, Acting Executive Director at Market Forces, said super funds should hold Santos up to the required standards and respect the human rights of Traditional Owners.

“It’s in the best interest of super fund members, Traditional Owners and the climate to stop these catastrophic gas projects going ahead,” he said.

Members of the other super funds named including UniSuper, ESSSuper, Commonwealth Super Corporation, Equip Super, Aware Super and Australian Retirement Trust, have also voiced their collective discontent with and opposition to the investments that have been brought to light.