ANU council, the governing body of the Australian National University, has announced that it will alter the University’s Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) policy in line with Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) principles.
This SRI policy was developed in 2013, in response to activist calls for the ANU to divest from fossil fuels companies.
This decision comes after months of pressure imposed by student activist groups such as Students 4 Palestine ANU, Students and Staff Against War ANU, and an ongoing encampment presence that has lasted over 100 days. This pressure included demands to divest from arms manufacturers such as Lockheed Martin.
In July, ANU council undertook a review of its contemporary SRI policy, which received over 900 submissions, and held a town hall meeting attracting over 100 attendees.
The peak student group representing the encampment released a statement on social media which said the announcement was “ insufficient in addressing their material investments in the Palestinian genocide.”
The statement argues that the announcement only applies to the Long Term Investment Pool (LTIP) which expects some investments and “it is unclear whether this new policy retroactively applies to already held investments.”
Activists also raised concerns that there was no definition of ‘controversial weapons companies’ and ‘small arms manufacturers’ meaning that some companies like Australian Super, who was found by the ABC to have investments in weapon companies, may be exempt even if they are in the LTIP.
“The Encampment must conclude their outcome as inadequate, immoral, and deceptive,” the statement reads.
An ANU spokesperson told Honi Soit that “the university will continue to review its policy settings to ensure investment decisions are aligned to our values.
“The implementation of these changes will take some time as the university works with its external investment managers to ensure they are carried out effectively”.
