INTERNATIONAL investors involved in engagement with Rio Tinto on how it will address failings that led to heritage destruction at Juukan Gorge have welcomed the company’s announcement today on new disclosure and governance oversight measures aimed at rebuilding trust with Traditional Owners.

HESTA led an engagement supported by a group of Australian, UK and European investors that sought key transparency commitments aimed at giving investors confidence the company was making progress on managing cultural heritage and fostering respectful partnerships with Indigenous communities.

“Investors put forward very clear requests around what disclosure and governance arrangements we needed to see to ensure that the tragic heritage destruction at Juukan Gorge never happens again,” HESTA CEO Debby Blakey said.

“It’s pleasing that we’ve had constructive discussions with Rio Tinto that can support progress towards managing this clear financial risk for investors. The steps the company has agreed to will support broader improvements in practices, disclosure and oversight urgently needed across the mining sector.

“Rio is at the start of a very long process of rebuilding trust. It will require long-term commitment to deep-seated cultural change and strong frameworks and processes in place to support genuine, open and ongoing partnership with Indigenous communities, no matter who is in management or Board roles.”

Ms Blakey said the investor group welcomed Rio’s commitment to continue dialogue with investors on disclosure and governance improvements.

“It’s vital that we see ongoing public reporting so investors can monitor progress over time and all stakeholders can have confidence that what Rio commits to is implemented and is effective,” Ms Blakey said.  

The investor group consisted of: ACSI, AustralianSuper, Aviva Investors, Aware Super, Brunel Pension Partnership, CareSuper, Catholic Superannuation Fund, Cbus, Council of Ethics of the Swedish National Pension Funds,  EOS at Federated Hermes, Equipsuper, HESTA, IFM Investors, Local Government Super, LUCRF Super, M&G Investments, Telstra Super, UniSuper, USS Investment Management, Victorian Funds Management Corporation and Vision Super.

Andy Jones, mining lead for EOS at Federated Hermes, said, “We welcome the commitment by Rio Tinto to provide enhanced disclosure on communities and cultural heritage performance.

“Importantly, the disclosure will better include the voice of affected communities. It is vital for stakeholders to have trust in the company’s approach and actions. This is a great opportunity for the company to use hard lessons learned over the past year to set a higher benchmark for company reporting on social impact and community relations.”

Rio announced it would support increased transparency around its approach to cultural heritage with additional regular disclosure on:

1. Ongoing progress against Rio’s own commitments and internal work-streams, external obligations and recommendations.
2. How Traditional Owners’ views are being sought and considered in shaping these commitments and Traditional Owners perspectives on how successfully these commitments are being met.
3. The enhanced governance arrangements in place to oversee the company’s progress against these actions.
4. How the company is working to advocate for enhanced sector-wide cultural heritage management and how this is consistent with our internal standards.

Ms Blakey said HESTA had regularly sought the views of a range of stakeholders including representatives of Traditional Owners and Indigenous organisations. This ongoing consultation will inform what disclosure and other arrangements are needed to provide greater certainty around cultural heritage protection and respectful partnerships with local communities.

“We will continue to consult with Indigenous communities and organisations to understand how investors can support the mining sector to build long-term, sustainable community partnerships grounded in recognition and respect,” Ms Blakey said.

About HESTA

HESTA is the largest superannuation fund dedicated to Australia’s health and community services sector. An industry fund that’s run only to benefit members, HESTA now has over 880,000 members (more than 80% are women) and manages more than $58 billion in assets invested around the world. As a responsible steward of their members’ retirement savings, HESTA focuses on achieving strong, sustainable, long-term returns while making a positive difference to the world members will retire into. HESTA is the acronym for Health Employees Superannuation Trust Australia and should appear in capitals.www.hesta.com.au

About Federated Hermes, Inc

Federated Hermes, Inc. is a leading global investment manager with $619.4 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2020. Guided by the conviction that responsible investing is the best way to create wealth over the long term, its investment solutions span 162 equity, fixed-income, alternative/private markets, multi-asset and liquidity management strategies and a range of separately managed account strategies. Providing active investment management and engagement services to more than 11,000 institutions and intermediaries, clients include corporations, government entities, insurance companies, foundations and endowments, banks and broker/dealers. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Federated Hermes’ more than 1,900 employees include those in London, New York, Boston and several other offices worldwide. www.FederatedHermes.co

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THE Maritime Union of Australia has slammed a proposal by the Federal Government to include seafarers as a priority occupation for skilled migration, saying hundreds of Australian seafarers are currently unemployed due to the COVID crisis and the loss of Australian-flagged commercial vessels.

The interim report of the Inquiry into Australia's Skilled Migration Program, released last week, recommends that seafarers be urgently added to the priority occupation list for skilled migration, opening the door to the recruitment of seafarers from overseas rather than employing or training local workers.

The report also proposes slashing existing labour market testing requirements, which require companies to look for Australian workers before recruiting overseas, along with scrapping a requirement that employers contribute to the Skilling Australia Fund to train local workers when bringing in foreign labour.

MUA national secretary Paddy Crumlin said it was outrageous that the Federal Government was looking to undermine the job security of Australian seafarers still struggling with the impacts of the COVID crisis.

“Right now, hundreds of Australian seafarers are struggling to find work,” Mr Crumlin said.

“The proposal to add seafarers to the priority occupation list for skilled migration, along with the weakening of labour market testing requirements, would be a devastating blow to those highly-skilled local seafarers.

“Based on nothing more than a suggestion by an industry group that skills shortages may occur in a very limited number of specific roles in future years, the Coalition members of the Joint Standing Committee on Migration have decided that all seafaring jobs should be opened up to overseas applicants.

“If the Morrison Government presses ahead with this proposal, it will be devastating for Australian seafarers, taking away employment opportunities at a time when many are struggling to find work.”

Mr Crumlin said Australia’s maritime industry had already been decimated by the Federal Government.

“Under the Abbott, Turnbull, and Morrison Governments, Australia’s merchant shipping fleet has drastically shrunk, with Australian-crewed commercial vessels replaced by flag-of-convenience ships registered in notorious tax havens,” he said.

“Australian seafarers have been losing their jobs as a direct result of the Morrison Government continuing to rubber-stamp thousands of temporary licences allowing foreign ships crewed by exploited workers paid as little as $2-an-hour to work on the Australian coast.

“If the Morrison Government presses ahead with this plan to allow companies to recruit seafarers from overseas, rather than employ skilled Australian workers, it will have a devastating impact on our industry.

“A smart island nation needs a self-sufficient maritime industry, which is why the Federal Government should be investing in the development of a strategic fleet of local vessels, rather than further weakening our critically-important maritime supply chains.”

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DETERMINING if changes to electoral legislation have kept foreign donations out of Australian elections will be the focus of a public hearing by Federal Parliament’s Electoral Matters Committee.

Committee Chair Senator James McGrath said, "The public hearing is an opportunity to examine whether changes to the Electoral Legislation Amendment (Electoral Funding and Disclosure Reform) Act 2018, have improved transparency and accountability of foreign political donations and whether the Act’s objectives have been achieved."

The committee is also interested in the impacts of amendments to the original bill that are relevant to charitable issue-based advocacy.

The committee will hear from the Australian Electoral Commission, charities and not-for profits.

Date: Monday, 29 March 2021
Time: 12pm to 4.15pm AEDT
Place: Committee Room 1R1 and via teleconference

Information on the inquiry, including the terms of reference, may be found on the inquiry webpage. The hearing will be broadcast live on the Parliament of Australia website.

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THE Indigenous Affairs Committee will hear from the Minerals Council of Australia and First Nations Media Australia this Thursday as part of its inquiry into pathways and participation opportunities for Indigenous Australians in employment and business.

Committee chair Julian Leeser MP said both organisations would provide valuable insights to the inquiry. The minerals sector has played an important role in Indigenous employment and procurement, and the media sector also provides job and training opportunities for First Nations people across Australia.

"Mining companies are key employers of First Nations peoples, we look forward to hearing more about programs they have developed to create economic opportunities in remote areas," Mr Leeser said.

"Indigenous broadcasting employs roughly 500 people nationally, opening up job opportunities for First Nations peoples in other related areas. The committee looks forward to discussing further ways to promote Indigenous participation in these sectors."

Witnesses will be attending the hearing via conference call.

Public hearing details

Date: Thursday, 25 March 2021
Time: 11.40am to 12.55pm AEDT

A live audio stream of the hearing will be accessible at https://www.aph.gov.au/Watch_Read_Listen.

A full program will be available at the inquiry website.

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