Not only has the Superannuation Fund Authority unethically invested into companies involved in tobacco production, they have also breached the Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament, and Arms Control Act 1987 by investing over $2 million into nuclear weapons development companies.Unbelievably they have then completely ignored the International Convention on Cluster Munitions by investing $2.5 million into five different cluster bomb manufacturers.
As a taxpaying New Zealander who has money invested into the Superannuation fund, I am disgusted at my hard earned dollars funding despicable companies that cause untold death and mayhem around the world.
Some sobering facts about where our money is being invested:
Approximately 5.4 million deaths worldwide are caused per year by tobacco. This is set to rise to 8.3 million by 2030. Approximately 2000 civilians are killed each year from detonating unexploded cluster bombs.
As of August 2011 the memorials recorded the names of more than 430,000 deaths from the US nuclear attack on Hiroshima (275,230) and Nagasaki (155,546).
However the conditions related to radiation exposure as a direct result of nuclear weapons testing and deployment make an exact figure difficult to quantify. Figures for those killed with newer small nuclear weapons in Iraq for instance are not available.
Because of nuclear weapons testing in the south pacific, every New Zealander has strontium 90 in their bodies. That historic testing will pollute this country and its people for many years to come. Nuclear weapons are a plague on the earth, and should receive no R&D funding from a nuclear free country.
By investing in the war machine, the Superannuation Fund Authority have shown themselves to be scum sucking leeches! Floating on the top of that scum (just below the Minister in charge, Bill English) is the Chairman of the board of trustees, David May. I can think of nobody more deserving of this weeks Asshole Award.
Aotearoa New Zealand Cluster Munition Coalition.
