Australia must ensure that public money is not invested in companies contributing to serious breaches of international law, including companies linked to Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
Petition: Australia’s Future Fund Must Comply with International Law and Divest from Entities Complicit with Israel’s Genocide.
To the Treasurer, Finance Minister and ALP Government.
The Future Fund currently has investments in companies linked to Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory, settlement expansion and the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
This includes global defence contractors Lockheed Martin and Elbit supplying military equipment used in Gaza, technology compant Palantir providing data processing and targeting capabilities to the IDF amidst the genocie, and Israeli banks including Bank Hapoalim, Bank Leumi and Israel Discount Bank, which have been documented by the United Nations as supporting settlement activity in occupied Palestinian territory.
These investments raise serious questions about Australia’s compliance with its international obligations.
The International Court of Justice’s 2024 Advisory Opinion made clear that states must not recognise Israel’s unlawful occupation of Palestinian territory as lawful, nor render aid or assistance in maintaining the unlawful situation.
Australia has publicly supported the illegality of Israeli settlements and has imposed sanctions in relation to settlement activity. But through the Future Fund, Australia is financially supporting the very companies undertaking and exacerbating the very practices it says are unlawful.
Public money investment must be consistent with Australia’s international obligations.
We therefore call on the Australian Government to:
- Update the Future Fund’s Investment Mandate Direction to explicitly require compliance with international law and human rights obligations, including clear guidance regarding unlawful occupation and settlement activity, and genocide risk.
- Direct the Future Fund to undertake enhanced human rights due diligence on its investments, including consideration of exclusion and divestment from companies linked to unlawful settlement activity and situations presenting a serious risk of genocide.
- Support legislation to protect public money from unlawful investments, including the proposed Divesting from Illegal Investments Bill, which would establish clear legal safeguards preventing public funds from supporting unlawful settlement activity and situations presenting a serious risk of genocide.
The Future Fund is Australian public money. It should not be invested in companies whose activities may contribute to serious breaches of international law.
We call on the Australian Government to act now to bring the Future Fund into line with Australia’s international obligations.