Well, my first private members Bill is over. The Ethical Investment (Crown Financial Institutions) Bill was voted down 63-58 tonight. Supporting it were Labour, Progressives, Greens, Maori and United, against National and ACT. Check out the debate here if you are interested.
It was not a great surprise that National and ACT opposed the bill, but disappointing all the same. The Bill sought to have clear and consistent criteria for ethical investment in the legislation that govern our major investment funds such as the Super Fund and ACC. The criteria are based on international norms and treaties and emphasise the importance of investing in organisations that have good governance, treat their stakeholders fairly and uphold human rights and good labour standards. From an environmental standpoint the organisations that are invested in should be conscious of their ecological footprint and should not be harmful to resources such as air, water and land.
The opposition was based on the fact that some good progress has been made in ethical investment policies and that “the market” would deal with the issues. I thought this was an opportunity to move from a passive approach to ethical and sustainable investment to a positive one that could re-inforce our image as an environmentally and socially conscious country on the world stage.
Anyway it was an interesting process to go through, and I am the wiser for it. Pleased to extend the support for the Bill across the House, and have agreed with other parties to keep working on the issue.
Posted in Human Rights, Labour, Economy, Environment and Finance. |
“Punching above our weight” is one of the most over-used phrases to describe New Zealand’s international presence, but today’s entry into force of the Cluster Munitions Convention is an example of our ability to take a leadership role in global debates. Along with Austria, Ireland, Mexico, Norway and Peru we were the core group of countries that led the push for a ban.The convention bans the use and production of cluster bombs. These are munitions that contain a number of small bomblets and are used to cover a large area and act as a deterent to advances by ground troops. The reality is that many civilians are affected by them, because just like landmines they litter the ground after conflict is over.While China, Russia and the US are still to sign up, and the campaign will go on, the fact that more than 100 countries have signed, and now 30 have ratified is a sign that the international community are well and truly behind this convention.New Zealand government Ministers (particularly Marian Hobbs and Phil Goff) and officials played a leading role in getting the convention finalised, including hosting a crucial negotiations here in 2008. The real drive has come from NGOs, and in particular from Mary Wareham. Mary has been a tireless campaigner on this issue, and I know just how thrilled she will be to see the convention come into force.If you want to find out more information about cluster munitions and the campaign to ban them check out this website
Posted in Human Rights, Disarmament and Foreign Affairs. |
At 4.40pm on Friday the government announced their new appointments to the Human Rights Review Tribunal. The Standard and even David Farrar has expressed some concerns about them. While some appointments to boards etc by governments of all hues will favour those who are supportive of them, there is normally some attempt to find people who have appropriate skills and knowledge in the area. I am really struggling to find that with the appointments, particularly of Brian Neeson (ex National MP), Ravi Musuku (ex National Candidate) and Ken Shirley (ex ACT MP).
In fact it is far worse than that. I/S at No Right Turn has gone through Hansard and found some of Mr Neeson’s contributions on Human Rights matters, and one wonders if the agenda here is in fact to destroy the Human Rights Review Tribunal from within. He does not actually support some of the fundamental legislation on which the Tribunal is based. He is simply not appropriate to have on the Tribunal, and anyone headed towards the Tribunal needs to be aware of what will face them.
The timing of the announcement is a shocker also. Simon Power is better than this, and the timing (last Friday before Christmas) looks like he knows this is not something to be proud of.
Posted in Political Appointments, Ken Shirley, Ravi Musuku, Brian Neeson and Human Rights. |
