MP super money in petrol, tobacco

NICK HENDERSON, POLITICAL REPORTER

March 14, 2007 02:15am

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HUNDREDS of millions of dollars from state politicians' superannuation funds are being invested in tobacco and petroleum manufacturing firms, it has been revealed.

Super SA, which invests the retirement savings of every state politician and public servant in the state, has $230 million in Exxon Mobil shares and $164 million in shares of cigarette manufacturer Philip Morris' parent company, Altria Group.

Greens MLC Mark Parnell yesterday accused the Government of being hypocritical for allowing the fund to invest in companies counter-productive to the aims of the state.

"While SA MPs are debating government Bills in Parliament to stop the harm caused by smoking and climate change, their own retirement funds are supporting companies that are working in the opposite direction," Mr Parnell said.

"I think many public servants would be horrified to discover their hard-earned money was being invested in companies that directly undermined the work they do."

Mr Parnell said his superannuation had to be invested with Super SA, and previous calls to set up an "ethical choice" which would not invest in these types of companies had been rejected.

"Fund members and the wider community should expect consistency between government policy and their investment strategy," he said.

"I wonder if Premier Rann, who regularly declares that climate change is a greater threat to the world than terrorism, is aware his super money helps fund groups that actively discredit the scientific consensus on climate change?"

Treasurer Kevin Foley yesterday said the companies chosen went through a "rigorous selection process".

"South Australia's public funds that are invested are managed by reputable funds management companies on our behalf," he said.

"The firms use their expertise to invest funds into companies that generate good returns in super funds."

Opposition Treasurer Rob Lucas said he was "wary" of Mr Parnell's proposition, and believed that Funds SA should be using any legal means to maximise returns for its investors.

Democrats MLC Sandra Kanck and Independent MP Nick Xenophon supported Mr Parnell's calls.

Mr Xenophon said he had wanted to opt out of the "generous" politicians' superannuation scheme and was shocked to learn his funds were being invested in the company which owns Philip Morris.

www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,21376946-910,00.html

www.markparnell.org.au/campaign_prn.php?campaignn=15

www.gopetition.com.au/petitions/super-sa-socially-responsible-investment-option.html

State Super invests millions in big tobacco, climate change sceptics

14/03/2007 by Mark Parnell

Greens MLC Mark Parnell has called for Funds SA to stop investing hundreds of millions of dollars of retirement savings of South Australian politicians and bureaucrats in companies that work against government policy.

Funds SA manages the compulsory superannuation funds of all South Australian public servants and politicians. Companies include Altria (the parent company of tobacco giant Philip Morris) which receives 0.5%, or $164 million, of the Funds SA international equities portfolio, and US oil giant and climate change sceptic ExxonMobil, which receives 0.7%, or $230 million. Total Funds SA fund assets last year amounted to over $10 billion.

“While SA MPs are debating government bills in parliament to stop the harm caused by smoking and climate change, their own retirement funds are supporting companies that are working in the opposite direction. I think many public servants would be horrified to discover their hard earned money was being invested in companies that directly undermined the work they do,” Mr Parnell said.

Philip Morris promotes itself as the ‘world’s leading international cigarette business outside the US’ with leading brands including Marlboro, Peter Jackson and Virginia Slims.

Exxon Mobil has been consistently funding leading international climate change sceptics including the Competitive Enterprise and the George C Marshall Institutes. On the same day the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) pronounced a more than 90% scientific certainty that climate change is human induced, the British Guardian Newspaper revealed that an ExxonMobil-funded lobby group, the American Enterprise Institute offered scientists and economists $10,000 each to spread doubt about the IPCC report.

“It is completely unacceptable that the South Australian government supports blatantly harmful businesses. Fund members and the wider community should expect consistency between government policy and their investment strategy.

“Right now there are two bills in parliament to try and stop passive smoking in cars and to increase fines for tobacco advertising – yet at the same time MPs are financially benefiting from tobacco sales.

“I wonder if Premier Rann, who regularly declares that climate change is a greater threat to the world than terrorism, is aware his super money helps fund groups that actively discredit the scientific consensus on climate change,” he said.

Last year, Mark Parnell moved an amendment in Parliament to try and force Super SA and Funds SA to offer an ethical superannuation option. This was knocked back by the government.

“Approximately half of Australia's employees are eligible to choose where their super funds go; however, government employees are not. If government employees cannot choose a different fund, at the very least an ethical investment option should be offered to them by their compulsory fund.

“Public servants should be able to choose not to put their money into companies that they don’t agree with,” Mr Parnell said.

Under sustained pressure from the Greens, the ACT government announced this week they would commission a review into the ACT’s investment portfolios.

“The ACT government has announced a review of where their money is invested – we are calling on Treasurer Kevin Foley to do the same.

“At the very least, Funds SA should immediately pull all funds out of Altria and ExonMobil, and offer an ethical choice for public sector employees.

“$10 billion is an incredibly large amount of money – I believe it should be invested in companies that work towards better outcomes for society, not against it,” Mr Parnell said.

Calculations:
Funds SA 2006 Annual Report -
International equities: $3,283 million (as at 30 June 2006)
www.supersa.sa.gov.au/investments/funds_sa_top_sharholdings.html
Exxon Mobil Corp 0.7% = $230 million
Altria Group Inc 0.5% = $164 million

www.sa.greens.org.au/mr.php?mr=285

www.markparnell.org.au/campaign_prn.php?campaignn=15
www.gopetition.com.au/petitions/super-sa-socially-responsible-investment-option.html

How much do you know about your Super?

South Australians invest a lot of money into super each year but how much do they know about their own investments?

80% know how many super funds they have.
75% know the name of their primary super fund.
50% know the percentage of their wage that goes into their super.
20% know about the risk Vs return balance of the super.
10% know how much super they have.
5% know what the rate of return is on their super investments.
1% know where their super is invested.
Less than 1% care about which companies their super is invested in.

Why should you care where your super is invested? If you don’t care then your super gets used to support unethical companies who invest your money in environmentally and socially damaging activities. Why should this bother you? This should bother you because these investments are not economically or morally sustainable.

If you are concerned about where your super is being invested then ask your super fund if the have a SRI (Socially Responsible Investment) super option. SRI super is important because it actively encourages companies to reduce pollution, observe international human rights standards and become more accountable to society.

If work for a South Australian Government department then you have no option to choose your super fund and the compulsory employer contribution component of your super goes straight to Super SA. Super SA is the only state government super fund in Australia that does not have a SRI option. If you are a Super SA member that would like a SRI super option please go online and sign the SRI for Super SA petition.

www.gopetition.com.au/petitions/super-sa-socially-responsible-investment-option.html

Government super funds that provide SRI options

Super SA is the only state government super fund in Australia not to offer a SRI option. All of the government super funds listed below offer their members an SRI super option.

Commonwealth Superannuation Scheme
www.css.gov.au
Queensland ,Government Superannuation Office, QSuper
www.qsuper.com.au/public/members/your_qsuper_options/investment_choice/sociallyresp.asp
The Local Authorities Superannuation fund (LASF)
www.lasf.org.zm/index.php
Local Government Superannuation Scheme (LGSS)
www.lgsuper.com.au/SRI.asp
Public Sector Superannuation Scheme (PSS) NSW
www.pss.gov.au
Quadrant Super Tasmania
www.quadrantsuper.com.au
The Victorian Superannuation Fund
www.vicsuper.com.au/www/html/978-climate-change.asp?intSiteID=1
WA Local Government Superannuation Plan
www.walgsp.com.au/inv_sociresponseinvest.html

www.gopetition.com.au/petitions/super-sa-socially-responsible-investment-option.html

SRI (Sustainable Responsible Investment) info

www.markparnell.org.au/campaign_prn.php?campaignn=15

www.acfonline.org.au/news.asp?news_id=456&c=82248
www.acfonline.org.au/uploads/res_super_money.pdf
http://wwf.org.au/act/takeaction/super-for-the-future/
http://eia.org.au/html/s02_article/article_view.asp?id=246&nav_cat_id=270&nav_top_id=95&view=&history=1&gback=home&dsa=352
www.sam-group.com/htmle/australia/profile.cfm
www.ethicalinvestor.com.au/
www.reputex.com.au/
www.aussi.net.au/
www.abc.net.au/rn/science/earth/stories/s252586.htm
www.asx.com.au/resources/newsletters/investor_update/20051108_ethical_investing.htm
www.moneymanagement.com.au/Articles/The-green-life_0c04b26e.html
www.theage.com.au/news/business/road-to-responsible-investing-paved-with-good-intentions-and-a-tidyprofit/2006/11/10/1162661897616.html
www.moneymanagement.com.au/Articles/A-sustainable-future_0c045025.html

www.gopetition.com.au/petitions/super-sa-socially-responsible-investment-option.html

Not so Super Super SA

Do you know or even care where your super is invested? If you line in SA and are a state government employee then your answer will almost certainly be a big fat NO.

Why should you care where your super is invested? Well if you don’t care, then your super gets invested in companies who care more about profits than about people or our planet. Weapons, tobacco, prostitution, gambling, slave labour and pollution are all very profitable industries. If someone you did not know walked up to you and asked to borrow $5 so they could go and build a had grenade and sell it to a country in civil war, you’d probably say no. But you feel quite comfortable allowing your entire retirement investment to be invested by someone who you don’t know, who invests in companies who value profits more than human life and/or the entire world.

If you do start to care about where your super is invested, what can you do about it?

You can call up your super fund and ask if they have a SRI (Sustainable Responsible Investment) super option. If they have one you can ask to have your super switched over to their SRI option. If your super fund does not have a SRI option you can switch to a super fund that does have a SRI option.

What do you do if you work for a SA government department? There’s not much you can do actually. If you work for a SA government department then the compulsory employer contribution portion of your super goes directly to Super SA. Does Super SA have a SRI option? Unfortunately not. Can you switch to another super fund? Unfortunately not. If you are a Super SA member the your super will most probably be invested in companies and practices that you are ethically opposed to.

Did you know that Super SA is the only state government super fund in Australia not to offer a SRI option?

If you would like to sign a petition to request that Super SA offers a SRI option please go to

www.gopetition.com.au/petitions/super-sa-socially-responsible-investment-option.html

For more info on SRI go to

http://eia.org.au

And yes the long term returns on SRI super options are generally quite good.