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NZ ARMS RACE CAN LEAD TO WAR
Comment by Larry
Ross, December 28, 2004
NZ involvement in arms, and arms related products,
can lead directly to NZ involvement in wars, and treaties like ANZUS with
war-prone nations. War Treaties may lead us to approve wars, and draw
us into escalating wars that spiral out of control. Arms production is
also a step toward NZ becoming a military culture, that views arms sales,
and usage of such arms in war, more as a business opportunity, than a
dispute we might help resolve by peaceful means. Conventional weapons
involvement, and war as a potential action for the State, can lead, especially
with ANZUS, to nuclear weapons involvement and potential usage. George
Bush's new nuclear doctrines allow for nuclear weapons use as a part of
conventional war. Whereas it is argued that NZ would never go nuclear,
our present weapons and war philosophy, and practice, indicate that we
have already climbed the first few rungs of the escalation ladder. Whether
we admit it or not, this is an important step toward accepting nuclear
weapons as a normal extension of conventional war, as the new Bush nuclear
policies would have us do. The National Party indicated as much, when
Don Brash told visiting US Senators "he would get rid of the anti-nuclear
law by lunch time". That, and many other statements from National MP's,
told New Zealanders what they could expect if National is elected.
National would take a giant step toward accepting the new US nuclear doctrines
and renewal of NZ participation in ANZUS.
That means it would be much more likely
that NZ would be drawn into any US nuclear war. As they say: "One thing
leads to another". So people should think it through carefully before
they allow NZ to further steps up the escalation ladder. This also is
a strong argument for the Labour Government to resist the lobbying efforts
of NZ's arms industry to go further, and reverse the dangerous trends.
We thank Labour for maintaining NZ's 1987 Nuclear Free Law, but warn then
against being seduced into abandoning it.
PMA and WARP deserve compliments for illuminating
this problem and what we can do about it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Say NO to the NZ 'defence'
industry
Action Alert from No WARP!
(Network Opposed to Weapons and Related Production)
12 October 2004
"Made in New Zealand:
a label to be proud of ?
Not when
it is the label on shoot-to-kill training equipment, grenades, land
mines effect simulators, weapons firing control systems, 'special
purpose' ammunition, and aerial bombing score systems ...
And not
when the label is used by NZ companies that have overseas parent companies
involved in the manufacture and deployment of nuclear weapons."
[quote from the new No WARP! leaflet]
The annual get-together
of the the NZ Defence Industries Association
(NZDIA) - the lobby group for companies that profit from bloodshed
and war - takes place at Te Papa
on 19 and 20 October. Below is a brief summary of
some of the companies involved; of NZ government support for the 'defence'
industry; and 'Act now to stop this deadly
business!' - a section on what
you can do wherever you are, and a protest you can join if you are
in Wellington.
* NZDIA member companies
include:
-
Flexisolutions Ltd,
Foxton Beach - 'Jungle Sweeper' combat grenades,
practice rifle grenades, simulated artillery grenades; made in the
garage of backyard bomb maker
Bill Sharplin, former life insurance salesman.
-
Marine Air Systems,
Lower Hutt - manufacture weapons firing control
systems, communication systems for mortar and artillery batteries,
remote detonation systems, devices
for remote initiation of explosives and
pyrotechnics for battlefield 'inoculation' exercises, and armed
forces command and control systems.
Their products include the Vanguard artillery
computer, the Morfire hand held IBM compatible battlefield computer
which "puts the future of the
mortar into the palm of your hand"; the Bullseye
aerial bombing scoring system; the Swordfish system for the demolition
of underwater obstacles and
targets in shallow waters; MAS Burst Radio modems
for military HF, VHF, and UHF radios to connect battlefield computer
systems; and more. Marine Air Systems
is part of the British based Hall and
Watts Defence Group.
-
Oscmar International
Ltd, Auckland HQ - 'realistic' shoot-to-kill laser
training equipment, including equipment for use in urban warfare
training centres; infantry weapons
effects simulators, shoulder launched anti-tank
weapon simulators, land mines effects simulators, and more - "a
world leader in the field of
Realistic Combat Simulation" ... They have exported
more than 60,000 simulators to 15 countries; including Australia,
Thailand,
Denmark, India, and France. There have been reports that Oscmar
have sold more than 9,000 simulator
sets to the Indonesian armed forces.
-
Initially a NZ owned
and operated company, Oscmar International was
acquired by the Cubic Corporation (based in California) in 2000.
Cubic includes the Cubic Defence
Applications group which "provides a broad
spectrum of world-class integrated systems, electronic products
and high-caliber services supporting
the training and operational readiness of
U.S. armed forces and allied militaries ... We provide the complete
spectrum of training that warfighters
need to survive on today's battlefield.
This includes live combat training systems, mission support,
doctrine and leader development, simulation
development and technical support."
Their slogan is: 'Helping Our Forces Fight, Win and Return'.
-
Safe Air Limited,
Woodbourne - air force contracts and components supply;
infamous for their work on Indonesian
war planes as Indonesia's occupation
of East Timor ended in bloodshed and flames in 1999. They have
been involved in a range of
military contracts in the past for assorted air
forces, primarily those of NZ and Australia, and have done some
work for the Israeli air force.
Safe Air is owned by Air New Zealand and works
closely with Air New Zealand Engineering Services.
-
Pacific Aerospace
Corporation Ltd, Hamilton - manufactures aircraft
including the Airtrainer basic military training aircraft, which
is used by
the RNZAF and other air forces. Pacific Aerospace has built 50
CT4 airtrainers for the Australian
air force, and 46 for Thailand's air force
in the past - and in 2000 was chasing a contract to supply up
to fifty CT4 air trainers
to the Israeli air force. It makes components for the F18
warplane; and has produced components
for the ANZAC frigates and US Marine
amphibious armoured personnel carriers.
- Ordnance Development Limited, Wanganui
- manufactures special purpose
ammunition, training ammunition, and Anti Material ammunition; supplies
a range of ammunition to "several
military forces worldwide" including
tracer, armour piercing and incendiary bullets and shells.
- Ordnance Development was named as an
exciting export growth company in a
recent Microsoft Search for New Zealand's Most Exciting Companies:
"Ordnance Development's turnover is up 30% on two years ago and its
blank ammunition is being exported
to Australia and the United Arab Emirates"
... "The
30-year-old company invested 18 months ago in a plant upgrade that
will better position it for export sales.
Its capacity has increased from
eight million to 13 million rounds a year. The company is investigating
further export opportunities, this time
to Asian markets." (National Business
Review, 26 September 2003). Ordnance Development also has 'current
business' in Australia, Britain, Canada
and the US.
- Serco Project Engineering Ltd, Wellington
- has Ministry of Defence contracts
for logistic support at NZ army bases. SPEL is a joint venture
of
Serco Group (Britain) and Projeng Pty Ltd (Australia). Serco Group,
together with British Nuclear Fuels Ltd
and Lockheed Martin, manages Britain's
atomic weapons establishments - where British nuclear weapons
are
designed, manufactured and refurbished.
- Fitzroy Engineering Group Limited, New
Plymouth - recently joined with VT
Integrated Services (part of the VT Group,
Britain) to form VT Fitzroy. VT
Fitzroy now has the Ministry of Defence contract to manage the Devonport
naval base in Auckland. Another part
of the VT Group, VT Griffin Services
(USA) has the base support contract for Kings Bay, Georgia - where
US submarines armed with nuclear
warheads are based.
* NZ government involvement
NZDIA member companies are promoted and supported by the NZ government.
Their involvement includes:
-
Trade NZ - has provided
funding to NZDIA members to promote their wares
at arms fairs overseas. This misuse of public money has been crucial
in ensuring the rapid expansion
of NZ 'defence' exports - in just five years,
from 1996 to 2001, the $ value more than doubled from under $70,000,000
to around $145,000,000. Trade
NZ sees ... "tremendous potential for future
export growth of New Zealand's successful and diverse defence technologies
industry" (Trade NZ press release,
14 November 2001).
- Industrial Research Ltd (a Crown Research
Institute) - gives advice and "close
guidance" on testing 'defence' companies products.
- Industry NZ - "working with the Ministry
of Defence to maximise New Zealand
content in defence capital purchases."
- Te Papa Tongarewa, Museum of NZ - venue
for the November 2003 and October
2004 annual get-togethers of the NZDIA.
Te Papa is a Crown Entity, the
responsible Minister is Helen Clark, Minister for Arts, Culture and
Heritage.
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade
- MFAT officials ... "have urged
the government to enter the arms race and make a killing from the
war in Afghanistan."
"Defence spending was already
expected to climb before the tragedy of
September 11, with the on-going war against terrorism expanding the
existing trends." ... "While most defence
contracts still go to the big
prime contractors, there are opportunities for New Zealand companies
to target this sector through
partnering with US suppliers to the Pentagon. "The
opportunities are not just for weapons - defence is a huge customer
for nearly every product - from clothing
to IT to consulting services."
[From an MFAT Briefing to Helen Clark, quoted in 'Officials urge Clark
to join weapons race', David Fisher,
Sunday Star Times, 14 July 2002]
Every day, on average
close to thirty one and a half thousand children
under the age of five die from disease and malnutrition because of
lack of access to clean water,
food or basic health care. Every day, global
military expenditure averages out to more than $2.63 billion (US).
It is estimated by UNICEF
that every day two thousand children are maimed
or killed in armed conflict; and countless thousands more are traumatised
by war.
Knowing this, the New Zealand
government chooses to promote and support
companies who manufacture and export weapons related products.
* Act now to stop this
deadly business!
-
Tell the NZ government
what you think about their support for companies
which profit from bloodshed and war. Ask them why NZ Ministry of
Defence contracts are given
to companies involved with nuclear weapons production
and deployment overseas.
-
Contact: Helen Clark,
Prime Minister and Minister of Arts, Culture and
Heritage, email pm@ministers.govt.nz tel (04) 471 9998, fax (04)
473 3579. Phil Goff, Minister
of Foreign Affairs and Trade, email
pgoff@ministers.govt.nz tel (04) 470 6553 (04) 495 8444. Marian
Hobbs, Minister for Disarmament
and Arms Control, email mhobbs@ministers.govt.nz
tel (04) 470 6566, fax (04) 495 8467. Mark Burton, Minister of Defence,
email mburton@ministers.govt.nz tel
(04) 470 6564, fax (04) 495 8465. Jim
Anderton, Minister for Economic Development and Minister for Industry
and Regional Development, email
janderton@ministers.govt.nz tel (04) 470 6550,
fax (04) 495 8441. Or write to them at Parliament Buildings, Wellington
(no
stamp needed).
-
Tell Te Papa what you
think about 'our place' being the meeting venue for
companies involved with conventional
and nuclear weapons production.
Contact: Dr Seddon Bennington (CEO) and Dr Rod Deane (Board Chairman),
Te Papa Tongarewa, PO Box 467,
Wellington; email mail@tepapa.govt.nz tel (04)
381-7000, fax (04) 381 7070.
-
It is very helpful
for our work if you can send a copy of any letter you
write about this topic, and of any replies you receive - fax to
(04) 382 8173, post to No WARP!
c/o Peace Movement Aotearoa, PO Box 9314,
Wellington, or bcc to email pma@xtra.co.nz
-
Help distribute the
new No WARP! leaflet 'Made in New Zealand: a label to
be proud of?' The leaflet is available
online at http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/NOWARP04.PDF or paper copies
are available on request from
NO WARP!
-
email pma@xtra.co.nz
telling us how many you want,
and where to post them to; or tel (04) 382 8129 and leave a message
with those details.
-
Join the protest at
Te Papa - 'Masters of War at Our Place?' NZ companies
are profiting from war. They are using
your money to do it. They are
meeting at Our Place. Are you going to let them get away with it?
Stop the NZ 'Defence Industry'
conference - protest at Te Papa, 12 noon on Saturday
16 October. Organised by Peace Action Wellington, contact email
peacewellington@hotmail.com The 'Masters
of War at Our Place?' poster is
available online at http://www.paw.randomstatic.net/Mastersofwar.pdf
Details of other protests around the 2004 NZDIA seminar will be
posted to the No WARP! web page
at http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/nowarp.htm as soon
as they are available.
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NO WARP! Network Opposed
to Weapons and Related Production,
c/o Peace Movement Aotearoa PO
Box 9314,
Wellington, Aotearoa/New Zealand
Tel +64 4 382 8129, fax 382 8173,
email pma@xtra.co.nz
NO WARP! - http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/nowarp.htm
Not in Our Name - http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/nionnz.htm
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