Chris Crewther (Dunkley, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rose before, in a 90-second statement, to speak on aid and modern slavery, and I will expand upon those statements now. As chair of the Foreign Affairs and Aid Subcommittee of the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee, this area of aid is of great interest to me. Many different areas of policy currently face increased scrutiny, and international aid is one of the most critiqued areas of the law. The globalisation movements of decades gone past are now being questioned and foreign policies are being evaluated with the same degree of scrutiny, if not more, than domestic policies.

It is not often, however, that the full scope of our international involvement is considered. Australia, for example supports the work of organisations such as the Red Cross, Save the Children and the UN Population Fund in the critical humanitarian work they do around the world, and supports the UNHCR as well. Our aid program works with the intent of countering local instability in the country where it occurs, and aims to prevent the displacement of even more people around the world. We strive to prevent regional instability and conflict by addressing humanitarian concerns at their origin. We cannot exist in isolation in a world that grows progressively more interconnected. That said, aid that we currently give and that we might give in the future must be sustainable aid. That is, it should ensure growth of the local communities. One example that I used before is that of mosquito nets. If you ship mosquito nets into a community in a country in Africa instead of using the local mosquito net manufacturer, you can put that person out of business.

We must also promote the benefits, including promotion of regional security as well as diplomatic relations and the influence those provide, not only in our region but around the world. If we do so, we have the potential to enhance and perhaps even to expand our aid program.

I experienced this in Kosovo, where I formerly worked through the UN as an international lawyer at the Kosovo Property Agency, resolving property claims for people who lost possession of their properties due to the conflict—whether they were farms, homes or businesses. The Kosovo Property Agency was an independent agency, but it relied on donors—essentially, aid—from around the world to exist. Its existence was important because it ensured that private property rights could be given back to the people who owned those homes. They could return to those places, they could sell those places or they could rent those places. It also ensured that the country could ensure that the right person who owned the property was on the books, and that then promotes international investment.

Let's look at Dunkley. Dunkley is an important community in terms of our contribution to international aid as well. For example, the Australian Council for International Development notes that we have 149 corporate sponsors in Dunkley, as well as 64 church and community groups, 401 locum returned overseas volunteers, 10,802 individual supporters and 38 schools, including Kananook Primary School, Mount Eliza Secondary College, St Macartan's Parish Primary School and more.

Australia's aid program, as the Australian Council for International Development sets out, is an important tool in tackling the root causes of global challenges. We live in an international environment where non-state based actors and issues at the global level are threatening stability and prosperity. Australia's aid program builds collaborations and coalitions which empower other nations to lead their own development and make progress against pressing common challenges such as extreme property and inequality.

I mentioned before my work as part of the Foreign Affairs and Aid Subcommittee, looking into modern-day slavery legislation in Australia. I would like to expand upon this further. Part of our aid program does go towards combating important issues such as sexual slavery and labour slavery, particularly in our region. Our committee is inquiring into whether Australia should adopt national legislation to combat modern slavery comparable to the United Kingdom's Modern Slavery Act 2015 and hopefully even improving on that legislation.

According to the 2016 Global Slavery Index, an estimated 45.8 million people around the world are in some form of modern slavery, including over 4,000 in Australia. This describes a range of exploitative practices, including human trafficking, forced labour, wage exploitation, forced marriage and debt bondage. The Attorney-General's important action in approving this important topic initiated by the subcommittee provides us with the opportunity to explore whether Australia's laws can be improved to prevent modern slavery, both in Australia and in the supply chains of businesses and organisations that operate in Australia and overseas. I was very pleased to launch, on 17 February, this inquiry, and I look forward to working to enhance both our work in the aid program and our work around modern slavery legislation in Australia.

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