Antinuclear

New Future Fund acting chair should close loophole on nuclear weapon investments

18 December 2013  Following today’s announcement that former federal treasurer Peter Costello will become acting chair of the government-owned Future Fund, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) has called on the fund to broaden its policy against investments in controversial weapons.

In 2011 the Future Fund barred all investments in companies that manufacture anti-personnel landmines and cluster munitions, but a loophole remains in the policy allowing the fund to continue investing in nuclear weapon companies. Although these stocks represent a small portion of the fund’s overall holdings, they pose a significant reputational risk.

Research by ICAN shows that, as at June 2013, the Future Fund had investments worth $227 million in 16 foreign-based companies that manufacture nuclear warheads, missiles and deliver systems on behalf of the US, British and French governments. These companies include Northrop Grumman, BAE Systems and Honeywell International.

“To its credit, the Future Fund has taken a principled stand against investing in certain controversial weapons that are indiscriminate in nature and cause unacceptable harm to civilians. However, it must close the loophole in its investment policy that allows companies producing nuclear weapons to remain in the portfolio,” said ICAN spokesperson Tim Wright.

“The catastrophic humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons is well known,” he said. “It’s in no way unreasonable for Australian taxpayers to expect that their money won’t be used to finance these weapons of mass destruction.”

Many financial institutions around the world have recently divested from nuclear weapon companies due to the increased stigmatisation of the industry. These include the Norwegian government pension fund and New Zealand superannuation fund. The parliaments of Switzerland and Luxembourg have also recently banned all investments in nuclear weapon companies.

ICAN estimates that more than US$100 billion is spent annually on the maintenance, modernisation and build-up of nuclear forces globally. More than half of this amount is spent by the US government, which is revamping its entire nuclear arsenal. Much of this work is contracted out to publicly listed companies.

December 18, 2013 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, weapons and war