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

Janice, a freedom advocate and former Salvation Army client, spent three years in slavery in Sydney. She was brought to Australia on the promise of paid work as a housekeeper. Her passport was taken away by her employers under the pretence of organising permanent residency for her and her children. She worked 7 am to 10 pm seven days a week and was never paid. Janice became ill but was not seen by a doctor. She was forced to stop practising her religion. She could not contact her family, and she could not leave. She had no choices, no freedom and no control over her own life.

A French backpacker was exploited by a labour hire contractor in regional Victoria and was made to pay a $900 up-front commission to those who brought her here. She was paid as little as $12 an hour, was provided with uninhabitable accommodation and was locked into paying off that debt—conditions that she was led to believe were typical of farm life in Australia.

Football manufacturer Sherrin was found to use child labour in India in their supply chain, paying the children who worked in a factory $1 per day, despite having a 'zero tolerance policy regarding the use of underage workers', enforced by an 'extremely thorough global corporate social responsibility compliance program'. I am pleased that such an iconic Australian company then took the appropriate steps to fix the situation and ensure modern slavery was removed from their supply chain.

The reason I mention these stories is to speak about an issue of great enormity that, regrettably, receives far too little attention in the public sphere. As Chair of the Foreign Affairs and Aid Subcommittee of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade I am proud to be spearheading the inquiry initiated by the Turnbull coalition government in 2016, launched in February 2017, into Australia adopting national legislation to combat modern slavery both in Australia and in Australian company and organisational supply chains. An example of such legislation is that of the United Kingdom with their Modern Slavery Act 2015. Such legislation is critical to stamping out practices including human trafficking, forced labour, wage exploitation, forced marriage and debt bondage. We have, therefore, an example which we can look to improve upon.

Modern slavery frequently flies under the radar of the public but is frequently present in supply chains, agricultural production and various labour industries. Because of the experiences of people such as Janice, effectively enslaved by her employers, and the estimated over 4,500 people living in modern slavery in Australia, not to mention the more than 45 million people impacted by modern slavery practices worldwide, it is critical that that we take action.

I am thrilled to also have the support of Andrew 'Twiggy' Forrest, the Walk Free Foundation and, in particular, coalition cabinet ministers and colleagues in this endeavour. I look forward to the outcomes of the many written submissions we received, as well as the upcoming public hearings next week and in August across the country. The Attorney-General's Department is monitoring the effectiveness of the UK's corporate reporting requirements. We aim to not simply copy and paste the British legislation but improve upon it.

I can see many positive developments coming from this inquiry. For example, our report could include a recommendation to introduce a registry for businesses that are covered by the legislation that can be checked by investors and consumers. It could, for example, include an antislavery commissioner, creating a brand-new position to ensure that these objectives are reached, much like in the UK, as well as much more.

I thank those who have participated in this process so far and invite the Australian community to be part of this conversation. Further hearings will be held, as I noted, in June for businesses and in August for general participants, followed by an interim report on supply chains to be released by the subcommittee in August, as well as a final reporting date for the inquiry in December this year. This effort led by the Turnbull coalition government, and supported on a bipartisan basis, to turn around the shameful practices entrenched in many industries will see businesses held to account and working with the government to achieve and reinforce social responsibility in our community.

I am proud to be a part of the coalition government, who have initiated these responsible first steps to tackling this deeply important issue of modern slavery, and I thank everyone who has given evidence so far. I especially look forward to the final report being handed down later this year and to the recommendations of what a modern slavery act in Australia would include.

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