Teal MP Kylea Tink defends fossil fuel holdings

Documents filed to parliament reveal that climate-concerned teal independent MP Kylea Tink holds shares in oil and gas ­producers, refiners and toll road operators.

Independent MP Kylea Tink. Picture: AAP

Documents filed to parliament reveal that climate-concerned teal independent MP Kylea Tink holds shares in oil and gas ­producers, refiners and toll road operators.

News Corp newspapers reported on Monday that Ms Tink’s personal investment ­portfolio included shares in Beach Energy Ltd, Viva Energy Group Ltd and Transurban Group.

Beach Energy’s 2022 annual report confirms the oil and gas exploration and production company supplies 12 per cent of the gas on the East Coast of Australia with an aim to grow this figure to 16 per cent in the 2024 financial year.

Viva Energy operates the Geelong Refinery in Victoria which is one of the two remaining in Australia, supplying more than 50 per cent of Victoria’s and 10 per cent of Australia’s fuel.

Toll roads giant Transurban, which generated more than $600m revenue from Sydney drivers, facilitates drivers with petroleum and diesel internal combustion vehicles.

The independent MP has been outspoken on a 2050 net-zero emissions target, with climate change one of her core policy commitments listed on her website, claiming: “This is the critical decade for climate ­action”.

Ms Tink gave a speech to federal ­parliament supporting Anthony Albanese’s climate bill, which passed in the lower house earlier this month.

“We need a clear and ­actionable plan to reduce national emissions, guided by experts, to achieve at least 60 per cent (reductions) by 2030,” Ms Tink said.

“The decision made in the next three years will fundamentally affect our children’s and their children’s future.”

A spokeswoman for Ms Tink shared the statement of interest with The Australian which reads:

“Early in 2021, as Kylea was looking at ways she could affect change across the environmental space, Kylea purchased small shareholdings in a number of companies where she felt shareholder activism may be a way to both better understand the entities involved and potentially exert pressure from within to drive in reform. These companies include Beach Energy, Viva Energy and Transurban,” the statement reads.

“In each stance, Kylea has been very vocal in her desire to see change and reform and remains committed to exploring shareholder activism as a way to affect change.

“She would encourage anyone with the capacity to take such a course of action to also become shareholders in the companies that they wish to see reformed as it is often only from working within that change can be driven.

“The small amount of dividends Kylea received in the last 12 months were donated back into renewable energy campaigns or emissions offsetting.”