The City of Newcastle and Port Stephens Council, joint owners of the , have established an entity next to it which they intend to lease to weapons鈥 manufacturers, in contravention of an ethical investment and borrowing policy.
Newcastle Council鈥檚 policy explicitly rules out investing with companies involved with the production or supply of armaments.
The councils have leased a large parcel of land to聽,聽next to the commercial airport and the beefed-up Williamtown RAAF base.
It has been earmarked as a key location for the federal government鈥檚 defence manufacturing ambitions. According to its website 鈥淪tage 1 civil infrastructure works now complete and future development stages underway鈥.
Australian companies 听补苍诲听 鈥 global defence contractors and weapons manufacturers 鈥 have had their development applications approved for聽.
While the City of Newcastle has adopted a policy that rules out investing funds with weapons manufacturers,聽Greens Councillor Charlotte McCabe was told that it did not apply聽to Astra Aerolab.
McCabe unsuccessfully tried to move for council to break ties with weapons manufacturers at a meeting on June 12. She put a motion calling on councillors to advise the Greater Newcastle Aerotropolis Pty Limited聽that 鈥渋t does not support leasing to companies that contradict its own Investment and Borrowing Policy, including but not limited to BAE, Lockheed Martin, Electro Optic Systems, Raytheon, Daronmont Technologies, and Plexsys鈥.
The motion was defeated, with the two Greens councillors and only one Labor councillor voting for it.
A majority of councillors then voted for the executive director鈥檚 motion, which asserted that there was no contradiction in the policy as Newcastle Airport is 鈥渟tructured and governed independently鈥.聽
Astra Aerolab has already absorbed BAE as a tenant, McCabe said, adding that BAE maintains F-35s on the RAAF base.
鈥淭he Airport鈥檚 2023 annual report confirms they have also secured Boeing, Daronmont Technologies and Plexsys as future tenants.鈥 She said that Lockheed Martin is another likely future tenant.
The Newcastle Greens聽have initiated a petition campaign and are asking people to 聽before August 14.
鈥淭here has been no opportunity for the Newcastle community to comment on the Astra Aerolab precinct, and yet Newcastle Council intends to collect revenue from these weapons manufacturers to spend on our council infrastructure and services,鈥 McCabe said.
The Greens say such investment will divert skilled workers away from the critical transition to low carbon industries and renewable energy generation and councils must act in an ethical way.
The petition states that increasing ties between universities and weapons manufacturers is raising serious concerns among students, staff and the broader community.
The project is on toxic chemical contaminated lands, within the Tomago Sandbeds Catchment Area.
An independent review of Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) substances must be completed before the can be finalised. There is insufficient information for managing PFAS contaminants and protecting the sand beds.
Meanwhile, residents are expected to at the聽, where Astra Aerolab is a sponsor and Pat Conroy, Minister for Defence Industry, is expected to deliver a keynote address.
[The deadline for the聽 and 聽is August 14.]