Thursday 28 August: Two community organisations, Amnesty International Australia and the Centre for Non-Violence, have ended their relationship with healthcare and community sector super fund HESTA over its fossil fuel investments.
A third social change organisation, Jesuit Social Services, has been in dialogue with and advocating directly to HESTA to raise pressure on oil and gas companies Woodside and Santos to end their oil and gas expansion plans.
All three organisations have engaged with HESTA in recent years, requesting greater climate ambition from the fund. Yet the organisations say urgent action is needed now to end HESTA’s financial support for oil and gas companies directly undermining the vulnerable community members they serve.
HESTA is the industry super fund for people working in the health and community services sectors. It has more than 1.05 million members and nearly $97 billion in assets under management.
Brett Morgan, Superannuation Funds Campaign Lead, Market Forces, said:
“Community organisations and fund members are fed up with HESTA’s weak engagement with Woodside and Santos, which has so far failed to deliver results.”
“HESTA has disrespected its one million members by supporting Santos’ climate plan, which is consistent with catastrophic levels of global heating.“
“Woodside and Santos have been on HESTA’s watchlist for nearly three years so it’s high time for the fund to stop failing its members and publish a concrete escalation plan detailing how it will hold these oil and gas companies to account.”
For the first time, Amnesty International Australia can reveal it has removed HESTA from its enterprise bargaining agreement (EBA) as a default super provider, citing concerns about HESTA’s fossil fuel investments since putting the fund on notice in June 2022.
Sam Klintworth, National Director, Amnesty International Australia said:
“Climate change does not just pose a threat to the natural world and our environment, it is one of the greatest human rights challenges of our time. In addition to threatening our very existence, climate change is having harmful impacts on our rights to life, health, food, water, housing and livelihoods.”
“Continued inaction on climate change may well be the biggest intergenerational human rights violation in history and so whilst Amnesty has been loyal to HESTA for more than a decade we could no longer in good conscience continue this relationship and have HESTA as our default fund when they continue to invest in fossil fuel projects.”
Victorian-based Centre for Non-Violence, a specialist family violence service, has also written HESTA out of its EBA after several years of engagement with the fund.
Margaret Augerinos, CEO, Centre for Non-Violence said:
“Climate justice is not optional, it is an absolute ‘must have’ in an industry that works for social justice and equality.”
“We expect greater integrity from HESTA. Our decision to remove HESTA as our default fund was unanimously supported by all staff, management, and our community board members.“
“While we’re supporting flood victims who face homelessness, displacement and increased rates of family violence, HESTA is investing in companies like Woodside and Santos that are driving dangerous climate change and putting more women and children on the frontlines of climate impacts.”
Many of CNV’s staff have commenced transferring their retirement savings out of HESTA and into fossil fuel-free super funds.
Social change organisation Jesuit Social Services has decided to put HESTA on notice after the fund failed to deliver greater climate ambition, including pushing for an end to the oil and gas expansion plans of Woodside and Santos.
Julie Edwards, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Jesuit Social Services said:
“Jesuit Social Services has a mission to build a just society and we know that climate change exacerbates existing inequality. Many of the people we work with, including people facing poverty, financial and housing stress as well as people with disabilities, are often the first and worst impacted by climate-related events.“
“We recognise HESTA’s leadership in driving shareholder activism. We now call on them to take the next step to divest the more than $2.5 billion invested in companies that expand the fossil fuel industry, particularly as many of HESTA’s members work in the social services sector, supporting people who are among the hardest hit by climate change.”
Market Forces’ latest 2024 Climate Wreckers analysis of HESTA’s investment holdings disclosure shows the fund’s largest investment option (Balanced Growth) has more than $2.5 billion invested in a global list of companies expanding the fossil fuel industry.
HESTA is investing hundreds of millions of dollars in oil and gas companies Santos and Woodside, which is pursuing the Burrup Hub gas project, one of the dirtiest new fossil fuel projects planned in Australia.
There is no room for new oil and gas fields in a world aiming to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees as agreed in the Paris Agreement, according to scientists and experts including the International Energy Agency and International Institute for Sustainable Development.
“HESTA cannot credibly claim to support the climate goals of the Paris Agreement without also demanding an end to the oil and gas expansion plans of companies like Woodside and Santos,” said Brett Morgan.
“The fund must make its position on Santos and Woodside’s expansion plans clear or risk losing many more members.”
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