• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Subscribe
  • Twitter
  • RSS Feed

Investment News NZ

Investment News provides financial advisers news stories from the financial industry in New Zealand. Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter.

  • Home
  • News
  • Kiwisaver
  • Subscribe
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
You are here: Home / Investment News / Fertiliser flies as NZ Super gets phosphate friend for legal stoush

Fertiliser flies as NZ Super gets phosphate friend for legal stoush

June 14, 2020

Vera Power: Fertiliser Association of NZ chief

A fertiliser industry body has won the right to butt into a looming legal action between the NZ Superannuation Fund (NZS) and a Western Sahara political activist.

In a ruling handed down in the Auckland High Court last Friday, Justice Palmer agreed the Fertiliser Association of NZ could ‘intervene’ in case brought by Fadel Mohamed against the NZS.

Mohamed represents the Polisario Front for Australia and New Zealand, which supports liberation for the Sahrawi people of Western Sahara.

He alleges the NZS has breached its responsible investment rules by owning companies – principally phosphate manufacturers – associated with the disputed Moroccan-held Western Sahara territory.

“The claim alleges that Morocco’s occupation of Western Sahara is unlawful at international law,” the ruling says. “… “Underlying the claim is a question at international law about whether Morocco is in illegal occupation of Western Sahara. The statement of claim alleges it is and that the importation of phosphate by Ravensdown Ltd (Ravensdown) and Ballance Agri-Nutrients Ltd (Ballance) creates an incentive for Morocco to remain in occupation of Western Sahara.”

Following the decision last Friday the NZ fertiliser industry group can present evidence at the substantive hearing set down for two days starting October 27 this year.

Palmer ruled the fertiliser body evidence would “likely assist the Court to understand the Association’s perspective of the evidence and issues in the case, as long as the Association keeps to the narrow parameters of its proposed terms of intervention”.

As well, the judge said the NZ fertiliser suppliers could face spin-off legal action if the NZS loses the October case, giving further impetus to allow the industry body to present evidence.

Counsel for NZS told the court that the $45 billion plus fund “holds equity investments in 10 companies with business interests in Western Sahara and owns, through subsidiaries, dairy farms which have shares in Ravensdown and Balance because of their cooperative structure”, according to the decision.

The NZS was neutral on whether to admit the fertiliser association, headed by Vera Power, to the case but said any “public international law issues in the proceeding” should be left to the fund’s legal team to argue.

Palmer said in the ruling: “Viewed narrowly, the legal issues at stake in this case require assessment of policies and decisions of NZ Superannuation and interpretation of New Zealand legislation. The issues are of a public law nature. It is not clear to me, at this stage, that the Court will be required to make findings about international law.”

The NZS is internationally recognised for its stance on responsible investing but remains a soft target for lobby groups, special interests and politicians looking to express their disparate views on the fund’s underlying assets.

 

 

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Twitter0
LinkedIn0
Google+0
Facebook0

Read More » Investment News

Recent articles

  • New Salt suite to spice up fund mix January 17, 2021
  • Wealth head quits ASB for Tower job; Platinum loses Asia manager; Matterson moves from Milliman January 17, 2021
  • Westpac follows ANZ with Northern Trust mandate… January 17, 2021
  • … as Trust Management wins over another senior BT investment hand January 17, 2021
  • Capital ventures into BlackRock’s ETF territory January 17, 2021
  • Fresh CIO role as South Pacific aims for co-investments January 17, 2021
  • Lessons from 2020: don’t stop thinking about tomorrow January 17, 2021
  • SSGA to push big firms on ESG, stays mum on merger January 17, 2021
  • Low-carbon switch: why electric future turns on listed infrastructure investor January 17, 2021

Primary Sidebar

WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

Sign up here to receive our weekly newsletter.
Learn More »

Most Recent Investment News

New Salt suite to spice up fund mix

January 17, 2021

Wealth head quits ASB for Tower job; Platinum loses Asia manager; Matterson moves from Milliman

January 17, 2021

Westpac follows ANZ with Northern Trust mandate…

January 17, 2021

… as Trust Management wins over another senior BT investment hand

January 17, 2021

Capital ventures into BlackRock’s ETF territory

January 17, 2021

Search by Keyword

Investment News

  • New Salt suite to spice up fund mix January 17, 2021
  • Wealth head quits ASB for Tower job; Platinum loses Asia manager; Matterson moves from Milliman January 17, 2021
  • Westpac follows ANZ with Northern Trust mandate… January 17, 2021
  • … as Trust Management wins over another senior BT investment hand January 17, 2021
  • Capital ventures into BlackRock’s ETF territory January 17, 2021
  • Fresh CIO role as South Pacific aims for co-investments January 17, 2021
  • Lessons from 2020: don’t stop thinking about tomorrow January 17, 2021
  • SSGA to push big firms on ESG, stays mum on merger January 17, 2021
  • Low-carbon switch: why electric future turns on listed infrastructure investor January 17, 2021
  • Bitcoin: the nonsensical asset that makes sense for the times January 17, 2021

Investment News Archive

Most Popular Articles

  • Westpac NZ flags retail advice sale to Forsyth Barr posted on October 19, 2020
  • NZ share-trading splurge could trigger tax alarms… posted on October 5, 2020
  • The horror year in technicolour: free KiwiSaver 13 report released posted on September 30, 2020
  • Flint set to spark platform competition posted on August 17, 2020
  • Four to the core: Smartshares to expand, rearrange and reprice ETFs posted on June 22, 2020
  • Kitset KiwiSaver scheme set to unwrap in spring posted on April 27, 2020
  • Funds eye bargains, self-shoppers hoard cash, KiwiSavers turn conservative posted on March 15, 2020
  • AMP Capital NZ chief quits amid equities exodus offshore posted on August 28, 2020

Sponosored Content

David-Boyle

On the industry play-list: four chart-topping regulations for 2021

David-Boyle

Charge of the lite (advice) brigade

Nathan Field

Pandemic Baby Boom a Bust

Star-date 2020: it’s inflation Jim but not as we know it

Quick-links to Popular News

  • FAP Compliance
  • Coronavirus
  • New Appointments
  • Financial Markets Authority (FMA)
  • Kiwisaver
  • Climate Change
  • Crypto Currency
  • Blockchain
  • Insurance

Secondary Sidebar

Recent News

  • New Salt suite to spice up fund mix January 17, 2021
  • Wealth head quits ASB for Tower job; Platinum loses Asia manager; Matterson moves from Milliman January 17, 2021
  • Westpac follows ANZ with Northern Trust mandate… January 17, 2021
  • … as Trust Management wins over another senior BT investment hand January 17, 2021
  • Capital ventures into BlackRock’s ETF territory January 17, 2021
  • Fresh CIO role as South Pacific aims for co-investments January 17, 2021
  • Lessons from 2020: don’t stop thinking about tomorrow January 17, 2021
  • SSGA to push big firms on ESG, stays mum on merger January 17, 2021
  • Low-carbon switch: why electric future turns on listed infrastructure investor January 17, 2021
  • Bitcoin: the nonsensical asset that makes sense for the times January 17, 2021

Footer

Copyright ©2020 InvestmentNews.co.nz — All Rights Reserved ·— Terms & Conditions