Global Security Newswire

Australian Defense Minister Stephen Smith has requested a formal opinion on whether he wields authority under existing statutes to bar the possession of financial stakes in firms involved in nuclear weapons activities, The Australian newspaper reported on Thursday (see GSN, Oct. 17).

Smith instructed William Blick, a former inspector-general of intelligence and security, to determine "whether the investment of funds in companies that develop, produce, acquire or stockpile weapons of mass destruction should be controlled" by the Weapons of Mass Destruction (Prevention of Proliferation) Act. Canberra has tapped the law in five instances over roughly the last two years to prevent transfers of items with possible WMD applications to Pakistan and Middle Eastern countries including Iran (see GSN, April 5, 2010).

The law's potential use to prohibit financial interests in nuclear weapon-linked firms might affect a pension fund for Australian government retirees. Australia's "Future Fund" had $137.7 million in holdings in 15 such companies, including Boeing, EADS, Honeywell and Northrop Grumman, according to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (Sean Parnell, The Australian, Nov. 10).