No Public aid for the weapons trade
Press release: Peace Action Wellington
11 November, 2003


Peace Action Wellington hung massive banners at Te Papa today condemning the Government 
supported Defence Industry Association annual conference being held there. Activists 
disrupted the conference with noisemakers and chanted, ‘Arms Trade! Death Trade!’ to the 
conference participants.

‘The Government is wasting thousands of dollars of taxpayer money buying defence hardware 
that is never used. They are also actively supporting an industry which is in business to 
cause death and destruction.’ said Peace Action Wellington member John Anderson.

One banner on the waterfront exterior of the building read, ‘Arms Race at Our Place’ and 
featured a giant bloody fingerprint, Te Papa’s logo. The other banner, hung inside the 
large foyer of the museum read, ‘No public aid for weapons trade.’

‘It is bad enough that our Defence Force is supporting an immoral and illegal occupation 
in Iraq at a cost of some $12 million. The Government clearly thinks military spending is 
more important than desperately needed medical and education priorities.’

The Defence Industry Association is a partnership between some of the world’s largest 
multinational corporations, the NZ Defence Force, and Trade and Industry NZ.

Peace Action Wellington is calling on the Labour Party for an immediate end to state support 
for a weapons industry.

ENDS

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