Antinuclear

ICAN calls on universities, Future Fund, to stop investing in nuclear weapons,

A lot of Australians would be shocked to learn that the Future Fund has more than A$130 million invested in companies that manufacture nuclear arms.

“It’s easy to imagine that Australia is not involved in the global nuclear weapons trade, but with the Future Fund’s investments in nuclear weapons companies and the Federal Governments intentions to export uranium to India and other nuclear weapons states, it most certainly is,” ICAN Australia’s Outreach Coordinator, Gem Romuld, told IDN.

ICAN AUSTRALIA SHOWS THE WAY TO ABOLISH NUKES BY NEENA BHANDARI | IDN-INDEPTH NEWSANALYSIS, 28 AUG 13,  SYDNEY (IDN) 

“………..The Future Fund ICAN is calling on universities to develop ethical investment policies that exclude nuclear weapons companies both from their direct investments and their investments through fund managers. An Australian Government investment fund, The Future Fund, currently invests A$227 million in nuclear weapons companies.

A petition with 14,000 signatures was delivered in August 2013 to the Fund’s board members and ICAN members visited the Fund’s head office in Melbourne on Hiroshima Day (August 6) and Nagasaki Day (August 9), demanding that it divests from nuclear weapons companies.

Wright said, “The Fund has divested from companies involved in the production of other inhumane weapons such as cluster munitions and landmines. They recently excluded tobacco companies from their investments in response to public pressure, so we are optimistic that we can also convince them to exclude nuclear weapons companies.”

Earlier, the Fund had disclosed to the Senate (one of the two houses of Australian Parliament) that it invests taxpayers’ money in 14 companies involved in the production and maintenance of nuclear weapons or associated technology.

“I think a lot of Australians would be shocked to learn that the Future Fund has more than A$130 million invested in companies that manufacture nuclear arms. Our members regularly express concern about the investment choices made by those overseeing the Future Fund,” said Rohan Wenn, Communications Manager at GetUp Australia, an independent, grassroots community advocacy organisation.

As many as 76 per cent of Australians believe that nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament should be a top foreign policy objective of the Australian Government, according to a 2011 survey conducted by the Lowy Institute for International Policy, an independent think tank.

Australian governments have been strong proponents of nuclear non-proliferation. Australia is a party to all major international conventions relating to nuclear weapons including the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), and the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty commonly known as The Treaty of Rarotonga as it was signed by the South Pacific nations on the island of Rarotonga (Cook Islands).

“It’s easy to imagine that Australia is not involved in the global nuclear weapons trade, but with the Future Fund’s investments in nuclear weapons companies and the Federal Governments intentions to export uranium to India and other nuclear weapons states, it most certainly is,” ICAN Australia’s Outreach Coordinator, Gem Romuld, told IDN.

The Treaty of Rarotonga prohibits Australia from facilitating the manufacture of nuclear weapons anywhere in the world. According to ICAN, the Future Fund might be contravening Australian legislation that outlaws assistance to anyone involved in the ”manufacture, production, acquisition or testing” of nuclear devices inside and outside Australia. http://www.indepthnews.info/index.php/global-issues/1742-ican-australia-shows-the-way-to-abolish-nukes

August 28, 2013 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, weapons and war