MPs pocketed $200,000 working for disgraced super fund

Two government MPs earned a combined $200,000 in directors fees last year to sit on the board of a superannuation fund found to have misled and deceived investors about its exposure to coal, gambling and Russian companies.

Labor MPs Karen McKeown and Nathan Hagarty are among nine directors of Active Super, which was the subject of a landmark greenwashing judgment in the Federal Court last week, when Justice David O’Callaghan found it held interests in industries it explicitly stated it would eschew.

These included gambling companies including Skycity Entertainment and PointsBet Holdings, coal miners including Whitehaven Coal and New Hope Corporation and several Russian entities after it said it would no longer invest in Russian companies following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

It was the first greenwashing successful case brought by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission that was contested by the fund being prosecuted. Other cases have been resolved out of court.

Active Super managed around $13.5 billion in assets for 89,000 members by the end of the relevant period between 2021 and 2023. McKeown, who is currently deputy chair of the board, became a director in 2018 and collected $115,159 in directors fees last year plus $12,092 in pension and superannuation. Her responsibilities include sitting on the governance committee.

Hagarty, the government whip, collected $82,256 in directors fees and $8637 in post-employment benefits. He sits on the risk committee and the audit and compliance committee.

Labor has said it is transitioning away from coal to meet its legislated emissions targets, but it has also been criticised for extending the life of Eraring, Australia’s largest coal-fired power station.

McKeown and Hagarty declined to comment while legal proceedings were still afoot. The matter will return to court for the costs and penalty.