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Where: Medibank Head Office, 720 Bourke Street, DocklandsIn February this year, the massive not-for-profit health insurer HCF (Health Comes First) committed to divesting from fossil fuels. This long over due move was a first in Australia and comes on the back of the insurer’s concerns around the negative impacts that fossil fuels have on health.The burning of fossil fuels for electricity causes hundreds of thousands of deaths each year by contributing to both air pollution and climate change–the most significant global health threat humanity has ever faced.
VAHPA hopes that the leadership shown by HCF will inspire others health insurers to do likewise. Indeed, we are very much hoping that the larger for-profit health insurers will follow suit and do the right thing by their members and all life on the planet.
It now seems that this might be on the cards. Australia’s largest health insurer, Medibank, with over $2.4 billion in investments, has vowed to give the matter of fossil fuel divestment serious consideration.
To help them make the right decision, VAHPA, in conjunction with Healthy Futures, and other progressive health groups, will be converging on the Medibank Head Office, 720 Bourke Street, Docklands, on the Southern Cross overpass at 12:30 pm on Tuesday 23 May.
For those of you unable to join in, don’t worry, you can still take action right now (in less than 2 minutes) by asking your own health insurer to divest from fossil fuels. See the link below.