‘Woke’ Corporations More Bark Than Bite: Australian Senator

The BlackRock logo is pictured outside their headquarters in the Manhattan borough of New York City on May 25, 2021. Carlo Allegri/Reuters

Nationals Senator Matt Canavan is calling on political leaders to stand up to investment firms using their influence to pressure corporations to pursue “woke” objectives.

“The problem with the corporate method of political decision-making is it concentrates decision-making in the hands of the few and wealthy. The beauty of democracy is that everybody, no matter their wealth, gets one vote,” he told The Epoch Times.

“The corporations are created by law, and it should be illegal to use shareholder’s monies to pursue political objectives to pressure other Australians—who are otherwise law-abiding—to conform with a larger corporate, political viewpoints.”

Listed companies in the United States have come under pressure for embracing “virtue signalling,” or environmental, social, and governance (ESG) causes—including climate change and gender equality policies.

Notably, major investment firms BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street—who own substantial holdings in the largest publicly listed companies across the developed world—are using this leverage to compel executive boards to embrace policies like more gender quotas in management positions.

While in Australia, proxy advisors like the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors, who purport to represent the interests of 37 pension funds, have played a similar role on climate change.

If major pension or investment funds decide to pull money from major companies, it can have a marked impact on the share price of a corporation and influence other investors.

Standing Up Against Woke Interests

The overall situation has compelled 19 U.S. attorney-generals of conservative-led states to issue a “please explain” to the world’s largest asset manager BlackRock on its activities, arguing that its pursuit of net-zero was potentially putting it in breach of its fiduciary duty to shareholders.

Senator Canavan said those examples forced companies like BlackRock to back down and stop pursuing “anti-fossil fuel agendas” in those jurisdictions.

“Despite Australia being a relatively small country, I think we can have a major influence on international financial institutions, and we should not take for granted the kind of threats we’re seeing if we don’t sign up to net zero targets where we will be ostracised from capital markets,” he said.

Business leaders have warned that Australian companies, like banks, could be cut-off from global financial markets if they do not support stronger climate change action.

But Canavan said the country should not “sell its sovereignty.”

“Even if that were the price to pay. I don’t think we'd pay that price because these corporations tend to be more bark and bite.”