13 March 2014
Barbara Thomas from Murwillumbah appeared in the news recently to announce plans to divest from ANZ over their support of the fossil fuel industry, which is threatening the local environment. Barbara and other residents of northern New South Wales will be closing their accounts with the major banks as part of the Divestment Day of Action in May 2014. Click here to see details of the Murwillumbah and other NSW and ACT-based actions, and use the Divestment Day page to register to join them!
‘I’ve banked with ANZ for almost 52 years since I first started work. My dad was an executive with the bank, so it was ‘automatic.’ He was aghast at the huge salaries which were starting to be paid to the top executives just before he retired in the mid-70s and so I hope he would be similarly aghast at the bank’s massive support of the fossil fuel industry despite climate change and global warming being well recognized phenomena requiring a change in approach.
We need Australians to stand up for our environment and for the people whose lives are being decimated by the impact of fossil fuel mining on or near their land. The health impacts and effects on their land and livelihoods are horrendous (see Gasland II screened at the Byron Bay Film Festival but perhaps nowhere else in Australia because Rupert Murdoch’s Foxtel owns the distribution rights in Australia apparently!) We need to prevent CSG mining taking off in Australia and stop approving coal and gas projects.
We need renewable energy (think solar thermal and wind) and we need to stop fossil fuels now.
Banks offering ‘ethical and green’ investing maybe about to enter a growth phase – I certainly hope so.
So I am going ‘to put my money where my mouth is’ and divest from ANZ at Murwillumbah Branch on 2 May 2014. It will mean I will have to find $500-$800 annually for travel insurance (which came with my ANZ Platinum Visa Card), but I am committed to wearing that cost for the sake of future generations of Australians who need us to give up using fossil fuels.’