Greens welcome first steps by Super Fund - next step 'no nukes'

Go to Russel's NZ Super Report.

The Green Party is welcoming the decision by the New Zealand Superannuation Fund to stop investing our taxes in the tobacco industry, but also wants to Super Fund to drop its investments in nuclear weapon and cluster bomb manufacture.

"It's great that the Guardians of the Super Fund are starting to take their responsible investment policies seriously. The next step is to drop their investments in companies deeply involved in the production of nuclear weapons such as Northrop Grumman and EADS and those making cluster bombs such as Lockheed Martin," says Dr. Russel Norman, Green Party Co-Leader.

"The Super Fund says that their tobacco investments are contrary to specific international conventions. But how can our investments in nuclear weapons manufacture be compatible with our signature on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty?

"The Government is happy to tell Iran not to develop nuclear weapons, and we agree with them, but it is also happy to make money from investments in companies that make nuclear weapons. Where is the consistency?

"Investing our taxes in nuclear weapons' manufacture is damaging our international reputation as a peace-loving nation opposed to nuclear weapons, contravening the law establishing the Fund. The legislation establishing the Super Fund says that the Guardians should make investments in a way that avoids 'prejudice to New Zealand's reputation as a responsible member of the world community'. These investments clearly breach this criterion.

"Then there is the investment in Freeport which is a highly destructive mining company operating in West Papua, a company that the Norwegian Pension Fund withdrew from because of its environmental destruction.

The Greens have been campaigning for the Super Fund to take a responsible investment approach and released a report in February this year showing that the Fund has a range of irresponsible investments.