UniSuper, Australia’s fourth largest superannuation fund, has dumped its remaining shares in APA Group. Until recently, UniSuper was APA’s largest shareholder, owning 10% of the company. The fund sold $500 million worth of APA shares in October this year, before recently selling its remaining $340 million stake in the company.
Over the last six months, thousands of UniSuper members have been calling on their fund to stop backing APA’s gas expansion plans that would enable fracking in the Northern Territory’s Beetaloo Basin. After facing mounting pressure from its members, UniSuper sold the last of its shares in APA, divesting nearly $1 billion in total since October.
UniSuper’s exit should be seen as a major vote of no confidence in APA’s dirty gas expansion plans that would enable fracking in the Northern Territory.
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American companies Empire Energy and Tamboran Resources want to frack the Northern Territory for highly-polluting shale gas. Fracking has already been banned in Victoria and Tasmania due to the significant risks it poses to agricultural land and groundwater.
Empire and Tamboran have already faced scrutiny for serious breaches and misconduct this year, despite having developed only a small number of fracking wells. Empire failed to inform the Northern Territory heritage regulator about Aboriginal stone tools found near a gas well, which were subsequently moved. Tamboran instructed contractors to spray contaminated drill rig water at its well site. In a recent Senate inquiry, Tamboran’s Chief Executive Officer refused to confirm whether the company had received fines from Northern Territory regulators for its operations. Lock the Gate has also recently filed a legal challenge against Tamboran over the potential impacts of its operations on groundwater resources. This will be the first legal challenge under the Federal Government’s water trigger legislation.