The Norwegian Pension Fund has recently divested in a number of corporations in its investment portfolio for ethical reasons in accordance with the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment. These include corporations which are involved in the production of nuclear weapons and cluster bombs; which contribute to significant environmental damage; or which exhibit human rights and labour rights violations.

The New Zealand Superannuation Fund is also a signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment and has recently divested in a number of corporations for their involvement in the production of anti-personnel mines or the processing of whale meat.

However, there are a number of corporations involved in the production of nuclear weapons and their delivery systems and in the production of cluster munitions that have been removed from the Norwegian Pension Fund but remain in the NZ Super Fund portfolio. The manufacture and deployment of these weapons systems is contrary to New Zealand policy.

The New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament, and Arms Control Act of 1987 not only prohibits the manufacture, possession and control over nuclear explosive devices, but also prohibits any person – natural or legal – from aiding, abetting or procuring any other person to manufacture, acquire, possess of have any control over nuclear weapons (Section 5 (2) (b)).

According to the Profile of the New Zealand Superannuation Fund the Fund is a “Crown entity.” It would appear that it thus comes under Section 5 (2).

Of the corporations listed in the Super Fund, the one most directly involved in the manufacture of nuclear warheads would be Lockheed Martin which is the prime contractor for Sandia National Laboratories, a nuclear weapons engineering and design lab funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. The company also has a major subcontract at the Nevada Test Site to carry out "subcritical testing" of new nuclear weapons designs.

Lockheed Martin is primarily a weapons contractor with approximately 80% of its income is from military contracts. Super Fund money invested in Lockheed Martin would thus be supporting military programmes including nuclear weapons programmes.

Lockheed Martin is also heavily involved in lobbying for nuclear weapons and defense programmes in the US congress contributing over US$3 million to congressional campaigns in 2000 alone. Lockheed Martin’s work on nuclear weapons and its other defense work is highlighted on its website www.lockheedmartin.com.

Some of the other corporations in the New Zealand Super Fund portfolio - such as Boeing, Northrop Grumman, and BAE - along with Lockheed Martin, are manufacturing nuclear weapons delivery and control systems. It is possible that this might also be inconsistent with Section 5 (2) (b). Nuclear weapon delivery systems such as Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles, strategic nuclear submarines, Submarine Launched Ballistic Missiles and nuclear weapons Command and Control systems could fall under the clause ‘or have any control over any nuclear explosive device.’ It should also be noted that in many arms control treaties the nuclear weapons delivery systems are treated as an integral part of the nuclear weapon.

At the very least, there is an ethical reason for the New Zealand Super Fund to divest in any corporation involved in the development, testing and manufacture of nuclear weapons delivery and control systems.

Pacific Office of the International Association of Lawyers against Nuclear Arms

Chairperson: Simon Reeves LLM
Secretary: Alan Webb LLB
Director: Alyn Ware