The Australian National University is to reconsider its links to arms companies and companies connected to territory occupied by Israeli settlers.
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The sudden change of policy comes nearly a month after students set up tents at the heart of the campus in protest at Israeli military action in the Gaza Strip in retaliation for the massacre of more than 1000 people in Israel by Hamas, the group designated as terrorists by Australia's and many other governments.
One of the ANU protesters' demands was that the university divest from arms companies.
The university denied it was caving in to those demands. A spokesperson said, rather, ANU authorities were listening to the students.
"The ANU welcomes the feedback it gets from its students. We thank them for it. We are now looking at how we can incorporate that into our sector-leading socially responsible investments in line with our values," he said.
ANU authorities have been wrestling with how to deal with the pro-Palestine encampment. It's in the process of deciding whether and how to discipline some of the protesters there.
One student said on the radio: "Hamas deserves our unconditional support." At the annual general meeting of the ANU Students' Association, another seemed to mimic Hitler, her finger appearing to copy the mass-murderer's characteristic moustache.
The ANU believes it has acted firmly on obnoxious behaviour, particularly that seen by Jewish students as anti-Semitic.
At the same time, it believes it can accommodate some of the suggestions which have come out of the current situation.
The ANU leadership has been in discussion with the university's Students' Association, and agreed with it to make a joint presentation to the ruling ANU council in June. That presentation would call for a rethink on ANU investment policy.
The students' association, ANUSA, has distanced itself from the hardcore protesters in the camp.
In contrast to its dealings with the students' union, ANU authorities have invited the protesters from the camp to a meeting three times but no one has come, a source said.
On Thursday, people at the camp said they wanted the university leadership to come to them because they were not a "hierarchical organisation". They wanted ANU leaders to address them collectively.
Initially, protests at the university were unfocused in that some students may have been objecting to the ferocity and scale of the Israeli response to the massacre, rape and hostage-taking of the Israelis by Hamas.
But others who have stuck with the camp have seemed to object to the very existence of Israel. ANU authorities feel the chant "from the river to the sea" is unacceptable.
On the change of investment policy, ANU said: "ANU welcomes feedback from its community and is always open to ensuring that our actions align with our values as a university and as a community.
"The university notes that some of the encampment protesters are calling on ANU to re-examine some of its current investments. These investments are in a range of major corporations, which undertake a wide range of business activities.
"All investments at ANU are governed by the university's socially responsible investment policy, which was introduced in 2013.
"The policy promotes investment in securities, companies, trusts and other entities that support socially beneficial outcomes, while avoiding investment opportunities that are likely to cause substantial social injury. The policy also acknowledges that many large companies have diverse activities.
"At the time of its introduction, the policy was world-leading, and it was an opportunity for the University to consider how and what we invest in and how these align to our values.
"Over the last decade, the list of things that we as a community care about has changed and evolved and the University thanks our student body for drawing our attention to areas that we may need to now consider in 2024. This includes expanding companies for review, along with emerging areas of research including artificial intelligence.
"ANU Council has oversight of the policy, and ANU Council has representatives from our staff and students.
"The university will take a paper, jointly with the ANUSA, to the ANU Council meeting in June to discuss this policy with our governing body.
"ANU is confident that if we can address the tool by which we make these decisions, we can also find a way to recognise our values-led approach in how we invest University resources.
"The university has listened to this important feedback from its students and thanks them for it."
Steve Evans
Steve Evans is a reporter on The Canberra Times. He's been a BBC correspondent in New York, London, Berlin and Seoul and the sole reporter/photographer/paper deliverer on The Glen Innes Examiner in country New South Wales. "All the jobs have been fascinating - and so it continues."
Steve Evans is a reporter on The Canberra Times. He's been a BBC correspondent in New York, London, Berlin and Seoul and the sole reporter/photographer/paper deliverer on The Glen Innes Examiner in country New South Wales. "All the jobs have been fascinating - and so it continues."
