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Weapons Expo Cancellation w/ Valerie Morse; October 2 2019

Weapons Expo Cancellation w/ Valerie Morse; October 2 2019

Weapons Expo Cancellation w/ Valerie Morse; October 2 2019 Weapons Expo Cancellation w/ Valerie Morse; October 2 2019, 7.44 MB
Wednesday, October 2, 2019

The New Zealand Defense Industry Association have announced that they will not be holding their annual Weapons Expo in 2019. Chairman Andrew Ford stated that it had been cancelled for a number of reasons, including "the safety of delegates, guests and community in the face of aggressive protest action". This comes after years of peace groups protesting against the military expo, with many protesters arrested during previous years actions against it. These groups are claiming that it acts as a platform for arms dealers to “cash in” on lucrative military contracts.The expo’s principal sponsor is Lockheed Martin, one of the world's largest arms company and a manufacturer of nuclear weapons. One group, Auckland Peace Action stated that while the organisers try to camouflage the event as respectable, it is hard to hide the reality of “shameless war profiteering”. William spoke with Peace Action member Valerie Morse about the cancellation and previous years protests. Will started off by asking Valerie to clarify what the weapons expo is, what it's sponsors are and what Peace Action’s problems are with it.