21st Aug 2012, 1:44 PM – Senate Criminal Code Amendment (Cluster Munitions Prohibition) Bill 2010 - In Committee - Ban investment

The majority voted against an amendment introduced by Greens Senator Scott Ludlam (WA), which means it was unsuccessful.

What did this amendment do?

This amendment would ban investment in "the development or production of cluster munitions or explosive submunitions". As Senator Ludlam explained:

The bill should explicitly ban investment because it assists with a prohibited act. I struggle to see how that could be a controversial statement. Many other countries specifically ban direct and indirect investment in cluster munitions in their legislation. By 'indirect' we mean an investment in a parent company that may, through a company that it has a holding in, in fact be manufacturing components or manufacturing cluster weapons themselves.

What is this bill?

The bill will bring the Convention on Cluster Munitions into Australian law by, for example, creating offences in relation to cluster munitions and explosive bomblets.

Read more in the bills digest.

Amendment text

(2) Schedule 1, item 1, page 3 (after line 29), after subsection 72.38(2), insert:

(2A) An entity regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission or by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority commits an offence if it directly or indirectly:

(a) provides funds to a person or an entity; or

(b) invests funds in an entity;

involved in the development or production of cluster munitions or explosive submunitions.