Luke Howarth (Petrie, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'm really pleased to rise to speak on the Modern Slavery Bill 2018. I'm very pleased that the coalition government is implementing this bill. The word 'slavery' conjures up images of Africans in chains. To many, slavery is thought of in terms of historic events—the things you learn about in school. Slavery has been a defining part of history for many countries around the world. We think of the battles fought to have slavery abolished and of those individuals who were brave enough to stand up to stamp out forced labour and slavery.

I want to pay tribute today to William Wilberforce, a former English parliamentarian who, in the 1800s, led the movement to stop slavery and fought very strongly for that. He was a great man who had a great Christian faith and believed in the importance of faith, morality and education. He resigned from parliament due to ill-health and died just three days after seeing the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 pass through the parliament. He was a prime example of someone putting faith into action and making a positive change in parliament to end slavery. Today many of us think of the 1800s and the abhorrent conditions that people used to be subject to.

Many Australians are blissfully unaware that slavery still exists, in higher numbers than any of us would be willing to admit. Sadly, slavery is rife in industries around the world. I know Australians would be shocked to realise how many products that we use every day are touched by modern slaves. Every day we're all worried about, for example, how much battery power our smartphones have. We rely on rechargeable batteries more and more, and companies use their battery usage as a selling point to get us to buy their products. Cobalt is a key component of lithium-ion rechargeable batteries, which are used in our smartphones, laptops and cars. Most of the supply of cobalt comes from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. A 2016 report from Amnesty International found that children as young as seven were being used as slave labour in the Democratic Republic of the Congo mining trade. The children were expected to work some 10 to 12 hours a day and received as little as US$1 or US$2 per day. The sad reality is that the likelihood that my smartphone wasn't touched in some way by a slave is pretty low.

When you're playing soccer for your local team or just kicking the ball around with your children, if someone asked you where that ball was made, you'd assume that China would have had some part in its manufacturing, and you'd probably be correct. What you wouldn't know is that soccer ball manufacturers in China can work up to 21 hours a day for a month straight making soccer balls.

When we are getting dressed in the morning, we never stop to think about the approximately 1.4 million children who are forced to work in Uzbek cotton fields. To put that into perspective, that's almost 3½ times the entire population of the Moreton Bay region. The Moreton Bay Regional Council is one of the councils in my seat.

These are just some examples of the many industries that are riddled with slave labour. It is hiding in our fashion, manufacturing and construction industries. I'm glad that, as a government, we're doing something to try and reduce it. According to the Australian Human Rights Law Centre, there are around 25 million slaves worldwide and almost 4,300 modern slaves in Australia. Of course, it would be great if this number could be zero, period. This bill will hopefully go a long way towards reducing that number of slaves.

I recently met with constituents of mine Judith Newton and Steven Peirce, who are fierce advocates for legislation to help curb modern slavery. I want to thank Judith and Steven for their time and for talking to me about the impacts that modern slavery has on our world every day. Whilst this bill won't address all of their concerns, it's a great start.

Modern slavery is a multidimensional issue. This bill primarily focuses on forced labour and the ways in which we can do our part to shut down this evil trade and ensure that those who are enforcing inhumane conditions are cut out of Australian business supply chains. The establishment of a modern slavery reporting requirement is the first step towards shining a light into the shadows of the supply chains where modern slavery thrives. We are leading the way. The federal government will consider possible modern slavery risks in our own procurement too.

But businesses need to know that this isn't just another box to tick; this is part of their responsibilities to their customers to implement fair and humane practices. The demand for cheaper products isn't a good enough excuse to even come close to justifying modern slavery. Companies which have $100 million in consolidated revenue will be required to annually report their modern slavery statements. They will need to report on identifying their key modern slavery risks and describe their actions to address these risks. These criteria will make it easier for businesses to understand their responsibilities in reporting and allow for consistency across all statements.

What's most important about this bill, though, is the transparency element. The statements will be freely available online through a dedicated register. This is a world-leading initiative to allow consumers the ability to judge companies on their actions and responsibilities as leaders in the modern world. As a nation, we pride ourselves on being leaders in the free world. We demand and deserve freedom, humanity, equality and fairness in what we do, and that should be prevalent in all aspects of business, no matter how big the job is in a large-scale business.

This bill is essential. This is what politicians are supposed to do. We're here to make legislation to help impact peoples' lives for the better. We are ensuring that large businesses and medium sized businesses identify modern slavery risks in their supply chains and do their part to stamp out the modern slavery footprint in Australia. I'm proud to be part of the government that's putting Australians first. This bill will have a monumental impact on ensuring that our business sector is fair, humane and also viable going forward. It's a great day for Australian history, and I'm proud to speak on this bill today.

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