If it's broken, fix it - Greens welcome review of NZ Super Fund's responsible investment policies

The Green Party has welcomed the NZ Superannuation Fund Guardians' decision to review their responsible investment framework as revealed in their 2007/2008 Statement of Intent tabled in Parliament today.

"It's great that the NZ Super Fund Guardians are reviewing their responsible investment framework because the current framework is manifestly failing — to reverse an old adage, if it's broken, fix it.

"The NZ Super Fund investments in companies deeply and directly involved in the manufacture and maintenance of nuclear weapons and cluster bombs have been an ongoing concern for the Green Party.

"We strongly recommend that the NZ Super Fund review their investments in companies such as those below which have been blacklisted by the world's biggest pension fund the Norwegian Pension Fund:

•Walmart — Labour rights violations, including prohibitions on unionising activity.

•BAE — investing in MBDA which is building a French nuclear air to surface missile; also payments to General Pinochet in Chile.

•Northrop Grumman — maintenance and upgrading of US ICBM nuclear missiles.

•United Technologies Corp — Maintenance and upgrading MX ICBM nuclear missiles.

•L3 Communications, Raytheon, Lockheed Martin — cluster bomb manufacture.

•Freeport — severe environmental destruction in West Papua."