Tonight the DIC (Defence Industry Committee) NZ Awards for Excellence were presented at a dinner during the Defence Technologies Joint Action Group Inc annual meeting in Wellington. The criteria for the awards are a mystery - are they for the company whose products have caused the most death and injury? the company who has had the biggest public subsidy for private profit?

The Flying a kite award:

• Air Affairs NZ Limited, Auckland - principal provider of air target services to the navy and airforce; part of the Air Affairs group of companies which operate in England, Australia, NZ and South Africa. British Air Affairs was established to provide "high-quality" training needs analysis to the British Ministry of Defence.

Dodgiest overseas links award - joint winners:

• Serco Group NZ Ltd, Wellington - Serco NZ was named in 2000 as 'the preferred provider' for the army base at Waiouru. Serco NZ is part of the British based Serco Group. Serco Group provides task management, operational and logistical support service to the British Ministry of Defence, to NATO armed forces, to the US Department of Defence, the Canadian Department of National Defence and the Australian Department of Defence. Their support for the Australian navy (as part of Defence Maritime Services, a joint venture between Serco and P&O Maritime Services) includes ammunitioning warships.
  
  Serco Group (or RCA Services Ltd as it was known then) provided most of the workforce for the construction of Fylingdales, and has been the only contractor to have operated and maintained the facility. Fylingdales is the British Ballistic Early Warning missile site which operates under the US 'Masterplan for tactical warning and attack' the aims of which include "to enhance the warfighting effectiveness of the strategic nuclear forces". Fylingdales is soon to be upgraded to be used as part of the US Star Wars National Missile Defence system. Serco provides the British navy with a wide range of services including the supply of ammunition to British warships, and support for submarine exercises in the Firth of Clyde - an area infamous for the mysterious disappearance of fishing trawlers over the years, generally believed to have been caused by submarines becoming entangled in their nets and dragging the trawlers and their crews down to the seabed.
  
  
• Babcock New Zealand Ltd, Navy dockyard, Auckland - Babcock NZ Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of Babcock International who describe themselves as "a leading supplier of support services to the armed forces'. They currently have contracts to refit British warships including HMS Invincible, one of the British aircraft carriers. British warships have been involved since 1991 in enforcing the economic sanctions which are responsible for the death of more than 4,000 children each month in Iraq.
  
  In Babcock's 1999 'Review of Operations', they describe the fitting of a Tomahawk cruise missile system to a British frigate as one of their 'key achievements'. Babcock International is also deeply involved with Britain's nuclear weapons arsenal.

Most connected to nuclear weapons award:

• Babcock New Zealand Ltd, Navy dockyard, Auckland - Babcock NZ Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of Babcock International, which currently manages Rossyth, the naval yard in Scotland where the rotting radioactive hulks of seven British nuclear submarines are moored because no-one knows what else to do with them. Their ten year contract to manage Rossyth is worth 1.5 billion pounds sterling.
  
  They are sole bidders for the contract to manage Faslane (the base for Britain's Trident nuclear armed submarines, each of which carries 48 independently-targeted nuclear warheads) and nearby Coulport (where the nuclear warheads are stored) when the submarines are not on patrol. Faslane and Coulport are in Scotland.

Dodgiest sounding company name award:

• Ordnance Development Limited, Wanganui - little is known about this secretive company, although they are named as the Oceania distributors of Magtech Brazil ammunition. Magtech is the arsenal for the Brazilian armed forces, and supplies a range of ammunition to 'several military forces worldwide" including tracer, armour piercing and incendiary bullets and shells.

Company with the murkiest origins, and whose parent company has been associated with acquisitions and mergers of some of the worst overseas companies, award:

• Marconi (various) NZ - Marconi NZ is not known to be directly involved in any 'defence' industries at this time. Marconi originates from parent company Marconi Plc whose 'heritage' includes a range of acquisitions and mergers over many years with companies such as Westinghouse, Vickers, Metrovick, GEC, British Aerospace, and BAE Systems. These are companies who have manufactured military communications and radar equipment, warships, warplanes including strike aircraft and bombers, guns, gun mountings, nuclear powered and armed submarines, and a range of 'guided' missiles. BAE Systems is currently the "joint third largest aerospace and defence company in the world", "a prime contractor and systems integrator in the air, land, sea and space defence market sectors" according to their blurb.

Companies with most direct contribution to war, death and destruction award - joint winners:

• Oscmar Limited, Auckland - for manufacturing equipment used to train soldiers to kill. Oscmar are "a world leader in the field of Realistic Combat Simulation". They make infantry weapons effects simulators, have produced laser based equipment for the Miles 2000 controller gun, and shoulder launched anti-tank weapon simulators. They describe their products as "providing realistic Force on Force Combat Simulation". They have exported more than 60,000 simulators to 15 countries; including Australia, Thailand, Denmark, India, and France. There have been reports that Oscmar have sold more than 9,000 simulator sets to the Indonesian armed forces.
  
  
• ADP Industries Ltd, Auckland - little is known about the activities of this company. Navy news (9 July 2001) links them to the production of Penguin air-to-surface missiles; the Sunday Star Times (30 September 2001) states that ADP Industries has contracts with the US government to make vehicles and equipment for loading munitions into planes. ADP Industries products may very well be in use right now by US armed forces killing the people of Afghanistan.
  
  
• Marine Air Systems, Lower Hutt - for producing and supplying fire control systems, communication systems for mortar and artillery batteries, remote detonation systems, devices for remote initiation of explosives and pyrotechnics for battlefield inoculation exercises, and armed forces command and control systems. Their products include the Vanguard artillery computer, the Morfire hand held IBM compatible battlefield computer which "puts the future of the mortar into the palm of your hand"; the Bullseye aerial bombing scoring system; and the Swordfish system for the demolition of underwater obstacles and targets in shallow waters.
  
  Marine Air Systems is part of the British based Halls and Watts (Defence Optics) Ltd group.
  
  
• Trimble Navigation NZ Ltd, Christchurch - is part of the US based Trimble Navigation Ltd. Trimble Navigation Ltd is "a trusted supplier for the US Department of Defence and military customers worldwide" of Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and Precise Positioning Service (PPS) used by armies, navies and airforces so they know where they are. It is unclear what contribution Trimble's positioning systems make to 'precision' bombing and missile strikes.
  
  In their tutorial on GPS, Trimble state: "the U.S. Department of Defence decided that the military had to have a super precise form of worldwide positioning. And fortunately they had the kind of money ($US12 billion!) it took to build something really good." Can you believe it ? that's a direct quote from their blurb.

Most connected to oppressive overseas armed forces award - joint winners:

• Pacific Aerospace Corporation Ltd, Hamilton - for their willingness to contract to supply up to fifty CT4 air trainers to the Israeli airforce (that contract has not yet been confirmed). Pacific Aerospace has built 50 CT4 airtrainers for the Australian airforce, and 46 for Thailand's airforce in the past.
  
  
• Safe Air Limited, Woodbourne airport, Blenheim - in particular for their refurbishment of Indonesian warplanes at the very time East Timor was erupting in violence and bloodshed in 1999. Safe Air has been involved in a range of military contracts in the past for assorted airforces, primarily those of NZ and Australia, and the manufacture of BAE Jaguar warplane brake parachute containers. Safe Air "successfully teamed with Kaman Aerospace [manufacturers of the naval warfare SH-2G Seasprite helicopters] on the NZ and Australian naval helicopter programme." Safe Air are contractors for the ANZAC frigates.
  
  
• Oscmar Limited, Auckland - for supplying simulator training equipment to the Indonesian armed forces. The NZ Herald reported on 15 July 1999 that "NZ made military simulator gear was sold last year to Turkey" ... if that was Oscmar equipment, then they get another Most connected to oppressive overseas armed forces award for that.

Suppliers of public funding and research for those who profit from death and destruction award - joint winners:

• Trade NZ, Head Office, Auckland - has provided funding for 'defence' companies to promote their wares at arms fairs overseas. Their support and funding has been important in ensuring the dramatic and dreadful increase in NZ's 'defence' exports from under $70 million in 1996 to more than $145 million last year.
  
  The DICKNZ Awards 2001 organising committee issued a Special Recommendation with this Award - that Trade NZ stop forthwith the promotion of those who profit from death and destruction, and instead provide funding only for socially useful exports.
  
  
• Industrial Research Ltd, Head Office, Auckland - this Crown Research Institute is a member of the Defence Technologies Joint Action Group Inc, the organisation which promotes the development of 'defence' industries for the NZ armed forces, and as a way of earning export dollars. Industrial Research Ltd's "defence testing team has a reputation for being service oriented. Essential advice on how to best approach the testing process is offered and close guidance is maintained from start to finish."
  
  The DICKNZ Awards 2001 organising committee issued a Special Recommendation with this Award - that Industrial Research Ltd stop forthwith any research to support those who profit from death and destruction, and instead provide research only for socially useful production.

General enthusiasm for war related production award - joint winners:

• Mace Engineering Ltd, Head Office, Christchurch - has a 'defence' manufacturing division which "specialises in working as a subcontractor with major overseas defence equipment suppliers, or it has the capability to design and manufacture components or finished products to specific customer requirements." Mace have been very involved in production for ANZAC frigates.
  
  
• Manawatu Defence Cluster, Palmerston North - was formed in 1997 to "encourage and assist local businesses wishing to supply goods and service to the defence forces". It has around 30 financial members (including DICKNZ Award winners Ordnance Development Ltd and Serco Defence Services), and is supported by Palmerston North City Council through Vision Manawatu.
  
  
• Wormald Technology New Zealand, Wellington - "proud suppliers" of heating, ventilation, air conditioning, fire protection equipment and more to the ANZAC frigates; supplier of assorted products including cabinets, chilled water plants and wiring to Swedish and Australian navy warships; and of air conditioning plants for the Australian airforce's tactical air defence radar system. Wormald NZ is part of the international group of Tyco companies - which includes Tyco NZ, whose security division incorporates Armourguard, ADT Security and TSSL. Tyco International Ltd specialises in electrical and electronic components, and undersea telecommunications systems among other things.