Insurance Australia Group (IAG) – one of the Australian insurance world’s marquee names – is being called upon by its shareholders to pledge not to invest in, insure, or advocate for projects that would damage natural or cultural sites within a world heritage area, according to the insurer.
The resolution, due to be discussed at the insurance giant’s annual general meeting scheduled for October 23rd, comes on the heels of a high profile government inquiry into the destruction of sacred Aboriginal sites in the Pilbara by the world's biggest iron ore miner Rio Tinto in May.
The mining giant is accused of destroying the Juukan Gorge rock shelters, which bore evidence of continuous human habitation dating back 46,000 years, putting them amongst the oldest historic sites in the country at a moment when the Black Lives Matter protests in the United States placed racial issues foremost in the public mind.
Public outcry fuelled an enquiry in the Senate earlier this month that saw Rio Tinto Chief Executive Jean-Sébastien Jacques vowing that the miner was “absolutely committed to learn and change,” in his opening statement to the lower house.
IAG struck a similar tone, issuing a statement on Tuesday which said that protecting cultural sites would ensure the fulfilment of a core tenet of the insurer's reconciliation action plan, which seeks to "increase knowledge and understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, histories and achievements.”
This year has been a challenging one already for IAG, which is estimated to have 8.5 million customers across its products, which include motor, travel, home, commercial and personal lines; the insurer announced earlier this month that FY20 bought with it a 39.5% decline in insurance profit to AU$741 million and a vertiginous drop in net profit after tax of just under 60% to AU$435 million.
