Door B
How does an ordinary Australian get a say?
The law gives shareholders a seat at the table. Most Australians don't have one. COGS turns individual voices into a bloc that companies must hear.
The mechanism
Every company listed on the ASX runs by the same rules. Shareholders get a vote. Shareholders speak at the Annual General Meeting. Shareholders question the directors about what the company does and how it does it.
Most Australians do not own those shares. Foreign companies, institutional investors, and superannuation funds hold the bulk of the register. The community living above the ground gets no automatic seat at the table.
COGS gives ordinary Australians a seat. Members of the COGS Foundation form a coordinated bloc behind the Foundation's holdings in ASX-listed resource companies. One membership, one vote. The Foundation casts the bloc according to the majority of Members.
The bloc attends the AGM. The bloc votes on company resolutions. The bloc questions the board on the record. A coordinated bloc is a material risk a company must manage. That changes the conversation.
How COGS does it
The Foundation holds CHESS-registered shares in Legacy Minerals Holdings (ASX: LGM) and Santos (ASX: STO). The next two acquisitions are Origin Energy (ASX: ORG) and Beach Energy (ASX: BPT). LGM is a gold and mineral exploration company working in northern NSW. The other three are Australian gas producers.
Members do not personally hold shares. Members hold a Foundation membership. The Foundation holds the shares as a single bloc on the CHESS Register and casts the bloc on each resolution per the Member majority.
Before each company's Annual General Meeting, every Member is polled on the resolutions. The Trustee then casts the entire bloc according to the majority result. The board sees one shareholder with thousands of Members behind it.
The First Nations Advisory Committee sits inside the Foundation's governing structure. Traditional Custodians hold binding authority on major decisions. Their consent is required by the governing documents and cannot be overridden.
See how your vote reaches the board through the bloc voting system and the First Nations Advisory Committee.
One membership, one vote, one voice. The company hears a community that speaks as one.
Where the power bloc begins.
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The mechanics in detail
The Corporations Act 2001 gives every registered shareholder the right to attend and vote at general meetings. This applies whether you hold one share or one million shares. The company cannot exclude you because your holding is small.
Your CHESS-registered shareholding is enforceable in Australian courts. The company must provide you with financial reports, meeting notices, and voting materials. The law backs you up if the company tries to cut corners.
That is the legal ground the bloc stands on. See why this approach is permanent and enforceable under Australian corporate law.
Members direct how the Foundation votes. The Foundation coordinates the bloc. The bloc attends as registered shareholders with full legal standing. The company cannot dismiss the community voice because the community owns shares.
Where this leaves you
You have the mechanism. Communities can speak as shareholders. The law backs the bloc vote. The companies must listen because the bloc owns shares.
The next question is what the companies are actually seeking to extract from Country. Who owns the minerals under the ground? Why does that matter for the community voice?
Want to talk it through? Book a 15-minute call with Thomas.
COG$ of Australia Foundation · ABN 91 341 497 529 · Drake Village NSW 2469 · Wahlubal Country, Bundjalung Nation
A community membership. Not financial advice. Not a managed investment scheme.