The Green Party dropped a bombshell today, saying the New Zealand Super Fund is investing taxpayers' money in nuclear weaponry manufacturing.
Green Party co-leader Russel Norman said the fund had invested millions of dollars in businesses that the Norway Pension Fund refused to support, for ethical reasons.
Dr
Norman has produced a report comparing investments between the New Zealand and Norway fund.
"There are 12 companies that the NZ Super Fund invests in that Norway has blacklisted for ethical reasons," he said.
These included:
* Nuclear weapons manufacture;
* cluster bomb manufacture;
* environmental destruction;
* labour rights and human rights violations.
Dr Norman said $9 million had been invested in Northrop Grumman Corp, and $6.9m in European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company -- "both of which are involved in nuclear weapons production".
A further $15.8m was invested in Lockheed Martin, a company that makes cluster bombs, and a $17m went into Wal-Mart -- a US company Dr Norman said has a poor record on labour and human rights.
"Ethical investment offers one positive way that people and governments can influence the behaviour of corporations internationally.
"We have a responsibility to use our money wisely to support good companies and avoid bad ones."
Dr Norman said the Norway Pension Fund make high returns without compromising ethical standards, "so why is the management of the NZ Super Fund unable to do the same?"
Previously the Green Party has criticised the fund for investing in companies that mined uranium and ExxonMobil, which it said was funding groups that denied climate change.
At the time a spokesman for Finance Minister Michael Cullen said the Government had limited powers to intervene in fund decisions.
But it did give fund managers a broad set of directions to ensure they had ethical investment policies, complied with United Nations standards and did not bring New Zealand into disrepute.
It was up to the fund's board to oversee investments.
- NZPA
