Pro-Palestinian protesters critical of Sydney Uni’s Longstaff review findings

Pro-Palestinian protesters have described as “woefully inadequate” The University of Sydney’s claim that it does not have information on which defence companies it holds investments in.

The pro-Palestine protest camp at Sydney University on June 17, 2024. Picture: Richard Dobson

The University of Sydney claims it does not have information on which defence companies it holds direct investments in, amid recommendations the university divest from military munitions-related assets.

Pro-Palestinian protesters in the university community have described the response as “woefully inadequate”.

The external Investment Policies Review Working Group chaired by Ethics Centre CEO Simon Longstaff recommended the university “unwind all of its investments” in assets which “derive revenue” from defence and strategic goods including firearms, missiles and military aircraft.

However, in response to questions put forward by The Daily Telegraph, a spokeswoman for the University of Sydney was unable to confirm which of the institution’s direct equity holdings or private investment vehicles would be impacted by the divestment, if adopted.

“We’ll be assessing the scope of our investments and how they might be affected as one of many actions stemming from our ongoing review of the Longstaff working group recommendations,” she said.

It comes as pro-Palestine student protesters and the Student Representative Council say the recommendations, even if they are implemented in full, don’t go far enough and that their university would remain “complicit in genocide”.

The Ethics Centre CEO Simon Longstaff chaired the working group. Picture: James Croucher

SRC President Angus Fisher said while the Longstaff review is a “step in the right direction”, including a recommendation that the university preserve its current investments in private funds reveals a “troubling contradiction”.

“This loophole, driven by financial expediency, undermines the moral clarity the University claims to embrace,” he said.

Students’ Representative Council president Angus Fisher.

“If the University is serious about its “commitment to human rights”, it must go further. It must commit to full divestment from all weapons companies, regardless of the financial vehicle.”

The Longstaff report describes an “opportunity cost” in the order of $30 million per annum if the university chose not to invest in blind private equity funds, while exiting its current investments would cost the institution $67 million.

Sydney University Students for Palestine organiser Shovan Bhattarai said the review’s recommendations were a “massive credit” to activists.

However to put “a numerical value on the lives of children in Gaza” is “simply disgraceful” she said, vowing to “keep fighting” for full divestment.

Protesters gather on the lawns of The University Of Sydney last year. Picture: Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images

“We very much would like to see the university follow through on these recommendations,” she said.

“However, we also recognise that these recommendations are totally inadequate when it comes to ending the university’s complicity in the genocide, when it continues to do weapons research with innumerable defence contractors.

“These (arrangements) will not be touched by the adoption of these recommendations, which I think is shameful.”