Govt default KiwiSaver funds must be responsibly invested

The Government should follow the actions of Grosevnor and take swift steps to ensure its default KiwiSaver funds meet minimum ethical standards, the Green Party said today.

Grosvenor announced yesterday that it was shifting its default KiwiSaver fund into a highly ethical international share index, which screens out companies producing items such as alcohol, tobacco, military weapons, firearms, nuclear power and fossil fuels. The move comes after reports last week showed at least five default KiwiSaver schemes were invested in companies making cluster bombs, mines and nuclear weapons.

“The Government can and should ensure that all default KiwiSaver funds abide by high standards for responsible investment,” Green Party finance spokesperson Julie Anne Genter said.

“KiwiBank, and now Grosvenor, have set a high bar for responsible investment for their default KiwiSaver funds, and Grosvenor has shown that fund managers can move very quickly to screen out unethical investments.

“Default KiwiSaver funds are chosen by the Government, so they should all meet ethical bottom lines consistent with our values and our law.

“By doing nothing, the Government is implicitly saying that it’s okay to invest in companies that produce illegal weapons that maim and kill innocent men, women and children.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade says that, ‘New Zealand regards the very existence of anti-personnel landmines and cluster munitions as inherently unacceptable’.

“If that’s still the case, the Government should walk its talk and set some basic standards for KiwiSaver investment.

“At a minimum, the Government should set a date by which all KiwiSaver funds must no longer invest in companies that manufacture cluster bombs, landmines, and nuclear weapons,” said Ms Genter.

Volunteer

The Greens are proud to be driven by passionate people like you. Today we need your help to take action on the biggest issues facing New Zealand.

Action

Save Auckland's Climate Budget

Sign the petition to stop Mayor Wayne Brown's proposal for dangerous cuts to climate and environmental programmes that protect us from extreme weat...

Action

No New Mines 2023

Action

Expand Voting

Now more than ever, young people in Aotearoa are impacted by Government decisions, and they deserve to have a say. We are calling on all Members of...

Action

End Intensive Winter Grazing

Sign the petition to Labour Ministers, to move faster in bringing regulations into force and end intensive winter grazing.

Action

Trains for Climate

Add your name to our open letter urging the Minister for Finance Grant Robertson to save our passenger trains between Wellington, the Wairarapa and...

Action

Healthy Oceans 2022

Join our Healthy Oceans Crew to help us keep the health and protection of our oceans high on the Labour Government’s political agenda.

Action

It's time: A Ministry for Rainbow Communities

Join our call asking the Prime Minister to establish a Ministry for Rainbow Communities that can champion Rainbow issues.

Action

No new mines on conservation land

Sign the open letter asking Labour Ministers to stick to their promise of banning new mining projects on conservation land.

Action

Allow community ownership of our buses

Public transport is an essential service and helps to tackle the climate crisis by reducing our carbon emissions. But there are barriers to communi...

Action

Local Events

We have activists across Aotearoa / New Zealand who are working hard to build a brighter future for our kids and grandkids. This page lists upcomin...

Latest Finance Announcements

Story

Tax the banks

Instead of creating an appeal fund and one-off lotto draw, the Labour Government could tax the billions of dollars banks have made in unearned, exc...

Urgent action needed to support families

The tools exist to help families with surging costs – and as costs continue to rise it is more urgent than ever that we use them, the Green Party ...

BPS constraints risk impacting low income people the most

The Government will constrain itself unnecessarily at Budget 2023 unless it changes the tax system to raise revenue from the wealthiest few which c...

Case for excess profit tax on banks clearer than ever

The Government should adopt an excess profits tax and use any revenue raised to help people make ends meet, following the rise in the Official Cash...

Tax excess profits, don’t leave it to the good will of large corporations

The Green Party is once again calling on the Government to introduce an excess profits tax and use the money to support people, rather than relying...

RBNZ report strengthens case for excess profit tax and more income support

A drop in household income from rising bank interest rates further demonstrates the need for an excess profits tax, the Green Party says.