FORMER Bass Coast Shire Council Mayor, Cr Michael Whelan, has launched an extraordinary attack on Australia’s “dirty banks” and their “dirty money” saying council should reject the services of any financial institution involved in “fossil fuel” projects.
He was speaking in the debate at last Wednesday’s council meeting about proposed amendments to the shire’s Investment Policy designed reduce the amount of surplus money Council invests in these banks.
“The proposed amendments would allow Council to preference financial institutions that do not fund fossil fuels where the interest rate is within 0.5% of the best available rate quoted (currently 0.3%),” according to a report to council.
However, while this would provide greater flexibility when selecting investments based on fossil fuel divestment, it may lead to reduced interest returns, according to the report, hence less money for shire works and service.
However, the majority of councillors who voted for the change of policy, are prepared to take that risk with other people’s money to make a political point about climate change.
And, it seems, Cr Whelan is prepared to go beyond the policy, accepting no services whatsoever from the banks which engage with fossil fuel companies.
“A few years ago Council declared a climate emergency and developed a comprehensive climate action plan as a result of that,” said Cr Whelan.
“One of the things that plan recognises is that climate action is a whole of organization initiative and a whole community initiative not just the bailiwick of sustainability. If we are to be truly resilient, then we need to take a whole range of issues.
“One of the things that is important is where we invest our money. It has become clear that the big four banks just ticket checkers for the fossil fuel industry, having invested over $57.5 billion in fossil fuel projects since 2015.
“In 2022 alone, the ANZ Bank put in $18.6 billion, Commonwealth Bank $15.8 billion, NAB $14.1 billion and Westpac $9 billion into supporting fossil fuel projects.
“Our children depend on us decarbonising our economy, getting out of fossil fuels, despite what the president COP28 may say. And we really need to wind this down quickly to respond quickly.
“Australia has signed up to that and the banks mouth platitudes that in fact they are in favor of getting out of fossil fuels at the same time as funding these fossil fuel projects, through chinks in the contracts and little backdoor ways of doing this.
“They are really a disgrace, the big four banks in particular.
“This policy allows a spread of investments across a whole range of banks that will allow us to minimize our investment in those big four banks, and I would hope invest not a single dollar in their dirty projects.
“While Westpac, for example, has a green project, they've isolated that over here as Green Project but over here, they're funding multiple fossil fuel projects. They are charlatans are the worst order.
“And to further our interest in climate change, it's really important that we start to, across the board, eliminate investments. We're not allowed to invest in fossil fuel projects, but by investing in these dirty banks, we are still indirectly investing in those projects. So, this is a way of us saying to the banks enough, we're sick of you, go away with your dirty money, we're not interested in you.”
Cr Les Larke raised a pertinent question:
“Could I just clarify with the administration who our major banker is to facilitate all our operations?”
“I believe our current bank is Westpac,” said the shire’s General Manager Business Transformation Robyn Borley.
Speaking next in the debate, Cr Rochelle Halstead said that while she agreed “wholeheartedly with the intent of this decision” she did so with some trepidation, concerned that such was the dominance of the big four banks that it might come back to bite council in the future.
Cr Whelan closed the debate:
“A couple of points I’d like to make – Westpac. We should be moving out of Westpac, their money stinks as far as I'm concerned. If they invest in fossil fuel projects, then they are bad news. Now the likes of the Bendigo Bank, the community banks, don't invest in fossil fuels, the Bank of Queensland, you've got a whole range of banks, Sunbank (Suncorp Bank?). So, there are many options out there of banks that do not invest in fossil fuels and we should be taking that on board.
“In response to concerns about the survivability of banks, the big four were bailed out, if one remembers, with the bank guarantee during the financial crisis, and only because they were too big to fail. Now that may not to be the case in the future. But what I'm saying is that their prudential requirements are not such that we get any guarantee of their survival either in that situation, particularly with the way they manage the rest of their business.
“And I might like to point out that the audit and risk committee reviewed proposed investment policy at their meeting on the 22nd of November, and have endorse this policy for consideration and adoption by councillors.”