Kiwis don’t want their savings invested in Marlboro Lights, Maccas or tax dodging multi-nationals.

A poll crowd-funded by members of ActionStation shows New Zealanders rejecting unethical industries in their KiwiSaver investments.

This UMR Research nation-wide omnibus survey shows New Zealanders oppose their KiwiSaver savings being invested in a range of industries that they find unethical.

ActionStation members around the country chipped in to fund the research, which is a survey of a nationally representative sample of 750 New Zealanders 18 years of age and over. Fieldwork for the survey was conducted between 13–19 September 2016.

Survey results

• The respondents overwhelmingly rejected investing KiwiSaver funds in tobacco, tax-dodging companies and junk food and sugary drinks.
• 86% of respondents disapproved of ‘companies that dodge tax here and abroad’.
• 74% of respondents disapproved of KiwiSaver funds being used for ‘junk food and sugary drinks’
• 81% of respondents disapproved of KiwiSaver being invested in tobacco.

After this emphatic rejection of unethical industries, it’s clear our KiwiSaver providers need to lift their game. Whether it’s tax-dodging multi-nationals, cigarette companies or fizzy drink manufacturers, New Zealanders have made it clear that investing our savings in unethical companies just isn’t ok.

People want their money invested in industries that will make things better, not worse. Some KiwiSaver providers are starting to get it, like Vanguard’s new fund that will reject tobacco and nuclear weapons or the providers who divested $109m from companies that make weapons. But these results show there’s so much further for them to go.

Background:

• More than 16,000 New Zealanders have signed an ActionStation petition calling on the Government to make it illegal for Kiwisaver funds to invest in companies that make weapons, bombs, land mines and missiles.
• Since the campaign launched Kiwisaver providers have divested $109m from companies that make cluster bombs, landmines and other weapons
• The petition calls for legislative change, through an Ethical Investment Act, so these moves towards more ethical investments cannot be reversed in the future.
• ActionStation has delivered the petition to Greens co-leader James Shaw, who will deliver it to the Tables Office to be passed to the relevant Select Committee for consideration.