Defence industries losing super funds

July 29, 1992
Issue 

The South Australian Superannuation Fund Investment Trust (SASFIT) is losing money because the Bannon government has been using it to shore up unsafe and military-based investments.

Investigations carried out by the ABC point to a negative return on the special investments portfolio of the fund.

SASFIT is the super fund which covers the majority of state public sector workers. Unions which cover these workers are the Public Service Association, South Australian Institute of Teachers, the Nurses' Federation and the Police Association.

A parliamentary committee will be looking at SASFIT's poor performance.

Total funds in SASFIT are approximately $900 million. The non-performing area of SASFIT is the special investment portfolio, which contains 17% of all investments.

The special investments portfolio has shares in ASER, AWA Defence Industries and Austereo.

SASFIT has a 30% share holding in AWA Defence Industries.

One of AWA Defence Industries' main operations is a contract to service part of the US base at Nurrungar, near Woomera. It is part of a joint venture with Serco, the British-based nuclear ballistic missile company.

AWA Defence Industries has three other main operations in SA: electronic warfare, underwater surveillance and night surveillance. All are research laboratories located at DSTO Salisbury.

How has AWA lost money when it has been virtually hand-fed by key contracts from Nurrungar and DSTO?

It seems that AWA has been unsuccessfully trying to commercialise DSTO's weapons systems.

The Bannon government's drive to militarise the economy of SA was proving to be another failure in line with the State Bank and SGIC fiascos. The government would have been much better off encouraging AWA to make better and more environmentally friendly air conditioners than to encourage defence research and spending.

The Peace Action Collective of SA will be making a submission to the parliamentary committee.

We will be asking the committee to investigate any possible conflict of interest, as we understand that the chairperson of SASFIT is also on the board of two of SASFIT's worst performing companies, tries and ASER.

Union members and particularly their nominees on the board of SASFIT should demand ethical investment policies and the selling of the SASFIT shares in AWA Defence Industries.
[From Nurrungar News, newsletter of the Peace Action Collective SA.]

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