The City of Canning council has voted in support of a proposal to prioritise investing in banks that support sustainable energy projects, a move one councillor said was not the role of local government.
At its September 19 meeting council voted in support of a revision to its current investments policy to include a preference for investing city money in banks that support sustainable energy projects.
The policy was last reviewed in 2014 and the city said recent changes to more multiple Australian bank ratings meant it should review its investment strategies.
Included in the recommended changes to the policy was the preference for investing in banks that support renewable energy projects, which struck a nerve with councillor Ben Kunze who said it was not appropriate for councils to make such decisions.
“As a local government I don’t think we should be taking such a position,” he said.
“Staff will interpret this as the city will prefer to avoid financial institutions that prefer to invest in fossil fuel projects.
“I find that surprising given we’re a large local government in a state driven by a resource industry.”
Mr Kunze said Western Australia could soon be the largest liquefied natural gas exporter in the world, and that not investing in banks that supported the resource sector could directly impact jobs creation in the state.
“WA is the most capital-intensive state in Australia,” he said.
“It takes a phenomenal amount of money to get these projects up and running.
“If more and more banks are pressured to not provide funding, more of these projects will not get off the ground.”
Mr Kunze tried to modify the recommendation to remove a preference for those banks, but was unsuccessful.
Councillor Pauline Tarrant raised the motion and said it was a forward-thinking move for the city.
“Research has shown Bunnings employs more people than the fossil fuel sector,” she said.
“The Financial Review shows Australia is falling further and further behind other nations in terms of innovation.
“The responsible thing to do by our citizens is looking at alternatives, looking at supporting innovation.
“It’s by far the most responsible thing for Canning and I think it will align with community expectations of the council.”
At the vote the council supported the recommendation 9-2, with Mr Kunze and councillor Margaret Hall in opposition.
