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

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that modem slavery continues to devastate the lives of millions of people, with latest estimates of over 40 million people impacted across the world, including over 4,000 people in Australia;

(2) acknowledges that the Government has one of the strongest responses to combat human trafficking and slavery around the world, delivered under the National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking and Slavery 2015-19;

(3) notes that the Government:

(a) remains committed to continuing to improve this response and recognises the importance of partnering with those on the frontline to combat this abhorrent crime;

(b) initiated the inquiry into Australia establishing modern slavery legislation, led by the Foreign Affairs and Aid Sub-Committee of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade, which released its interim report in August 2017 making a number of recommendations and statements of in-principle support; and

(c) following extensive consultation with business and civil society, and taking into account the Foreign Affairs and Aid Sub-Committee's recommendations in its December 2017 final report, will introduce targeted legislation requiring large businesses to report on the actions they are taking to address modern slavery in their supply chains; and

(4) calls on the House to support the Government's modern slavery legislation when it is brought before the Parliament.

Modern slavery continues to have a devastating impact on the lives of millions of people around the world. Modern slavery is an umbrella concept covering a number of different forms of exploitation, such as forced labour, debt bondage, child labour, human trafficking, sexual slavery and forced marriage. These are some of the worst crimes of humanity, creating situations where people can be trapped for years in cycles of exploitation and suffering. The stories can be harrowing. I have listened to stories of people being forced into domestic servitude and beaten on a daily basis for years—a story I believe will be covered on Australian television this evening. I have also read media reports regarding workers forced to live in wall cavities in my own electorate in Seaford.

Sadly, victims can be hidden in the depths of supply chains, contributing a small part to a larger product while their suffering is hidden from the world. Australians may be unknowingly contributing to these crimes, whether through the food they eat or the clothes they purchase. The latest estimates suggest that there are more than 40 million people in some form of modern slavery today, including some 4,000 in Australia. Various industries have found themselves at global risk, including fashion, fishing and horticulture. Globalisation has created a situation where goods manufactured for the Australian market are at risk of having elements produced by modern slavery.

Thankfully, this is an issue already on our radar. The Australian government has delivered a strong response to modern slavery thus far through the National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking and Slavery. The action plan has provided a whole-of-government framework for Commonwealth agencies to address the problem of modern slavery through both clarifying the problems and creating a number of priorities for government in addressing this issue. Furthermore, the Australian government is delivering a response internationally through its involvement in the Bali Process. The foreign minister is working closely with our regional partners, as well as business and non-government organisations, to develop best-practice solutions to these problems. By ensuring that our regional partners have a best-practice approach to tackling these problems, we can continue to fight modern slavery in the countries where it has had the greatest impact.

However, there is still room to expand our efforts in addressing modern slavery. While government certainly has a role to play in the response, we cannot be in every factory or on every farm around the world ensuring that people are not exploited. Businesses have a crucial role in addressing modern slavery, as they are the ones that can ultimately affect this issue. As such, the Australian government has already committed to legislation to enhance our response to modern slavery. In particular, the government announced during 2017 that it will introduce a mandatory supply-chain reporting requirement for businesses and a central repository of published statements. These actions will ask businesses to look into their supply chains and understand the challenges and risks of modern slavery to their own enterprises. I know that many directors would be horrified to find modern slavery as part of their business's supply chain, and this will see many of our businesses change their practices to stamp out this problem. The legislation will also see a central repository of modern slavery statements developed. This will allow any individual to access the modern-slavery reports of businesses and other organisations in order to understand what they are doing to fight and limit their risks. This will create a race to the top, producing and boosting the reputations of those businesses that embrace the fight to stop modern slavery.

Moreover, there is still further scope for improvements to this legislation. The report of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade, Hidden in plain sightwhich I was very proud of as Chair of the Foreign Affairs and Aid Sub-Committee last year—addresses other shortfalls in Australia's response to modern slavery. The recommendations of this report address issues not currently covered in Australia's response to modern slavery. One crucial element is expanding the oversight and response mechanism through the creation of an anti-modern-slavery commissioner in Australia, similar to a role that already exists in the United Kingdom. The commissioner would be independent and become a focal point for Australia's efforts and would be able to both inform and examine our ongoing efforts as well as advise on best-practice responses to modern slavery. Additionally, an independent commissioner would help erase the regulatory burden of the business reporting requirement by helping to advise concerned businesses on what is required under the reporting mechanism and how they can best tackle the risk of slavery in their supply chains.

The report also addresses orphanage trafficking, whereby children in orphanages and generous donors are exploited by orphanage directors and operators overseas. This can see everyday Australians of goodwill who want to help children in need having their donations instead diverted to line the pockets of some unscrupulous orphanage operators and even middlemen who traffic the children into orphanages. By changing some of our regulatory responses and improving education for Australians who seek to assist orphanages, we can ensure that donations and efforts genuinely assist children in need rather than continuing to fund human trafficking.

Another area addressed by the report is the risk of exploitation in our horticultural industry here in Australia. The committee heard from Moe Turaga, a Fijian migrant who gave evidence of being unpaid for his work on farms for two years. Furthermore, it was disappointing to hear that Mr Turaga's experience is not unique, with reports of ongoing exploitation of workers persisting. Thus the report recommended changes to Australia's visa system as well as improvements to our criminal justice responses to ensure that police in at-risk areas have the responses and training to identify victims of modern slavery.

Furthermore, the report addressed the risks victims of modern slavery face when trying to have their stories heard. Cases such as that of Mohammed Rowi, who was trapped in a modern slavery situation in northern Victoria before being locked in prison and deported, show that sometimes victims of this crime cannot receive the justice they deserve. This also continues the cycle of suffering for others, as the criminals exploiting people like Mr Rowi continue to go unpunished while the victims are deported and lose what money they have.

By improving our identification and training for crimes such as debt bondage and forced labour here in Australia we can catch these persistent criminals and improve the situation for all involved. By addressing these and other areas of concern the committee's report presents a multifaceted policy response to modern slavery. As a result, this report has been widely welcomed by both business and not-for-profit groups. Organisations as varied as Konica Minolta, the Law Council of Australia and the Freedom Partnership have all praised the recommendations of the committee's report. This broad spectrum of support creates a real opportunity for us to seize the momentum and ensure that Australia is at the forefront of this important global fight. Passing this legislation is crucial to our efforts in fighting modern slavery, and I call on each and every member of parliament to do so. I also look forward to our recommendations being considered, and hopefully approved, by the government, which would then follow with this legislation incorporated in these recommendations. This will ensure that we continue to bring slavery out of the shadows and address the problems with broader attention from directors, board members and the wider community.

This is a landmark report that I commend to the House. I hope the government that I am part of accepts the recommendations of the report. I look forward to legislation this year to tackle this issue to see that this problem, which faces over 40 million people worldwide and over 4,000 people in Australia, can be tackled both now and into the future.

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