Pat Conaghan (Cowper, National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Social Services) Share this | Hansard source

In a free and modern society such as Australia, the word 'slavery' is not one that generally comes up at the dinner table. As Australians, we believe that in this country workers are protected, that they have the opportunity to earn a basic wage and that no-one can be forced into a job that they don't want to do and doesn't meet our country's strict standards. For the most part, that's true. We have systems in place set by all levels of government and avenues that our citizens and visa holders can take to call out employers who do not meet those standards. Unfortunately, there is an uncomfortable reality that, in the peripheries of our day-to-day lives right here in Australia, modern slavery and exploitation are more prevalent than we would like to imagine.

These issues are particularly concerning amongst immigrant populations and affect more women than they do men. Where there are vulnerable people, there will be predators and predatory practices from those set to benefit from their exploitation, and it is our bipartisan role to provide adequate protections against slavery and, conversely, adequate penalties for those who abuse their positions of power. I would like to acknowledge the work of my colleagues, the former minister and assistant minister for home affairs, who successfully implemented the Modern Slavery Act 2018, further progressing the policy with the National Action Plan to Combat Modern Slavery 2020-25 and then adding to this with the creation of the Support for Trafficked People Program. These were not small advancements in this space, and each who contributed to these policies and programs from all sides of the floor should be thanked and congratulated for their bipartisan efforts. But I do need to give particular kudos to the current Leader of the Opposition, the member for McPherson and the member for Mitchell for spearheading these initiatives during their time in their ministerial roles with the Department of Home Affairs.

This new government, in its second budget, has committed additional funding to this space—sadly, this has been driven by an increase in demand, and I don't sheet that home to the current government—continuing the work started by my coalition colleagues, and I thank them for their renewed commitment to these critical programs. I'd like to acknowledge the $23.4 million that will be provided over four years. It has been earmarked to increase the support provided in the original Support for Trafficked People Program from 45 days to 90 days. This was available as an extension in certain circumstances, but has been made standard through these measures. As well, there will be an 18-month pilot program to allow direct referrals from community providers without the need to engage with the AFP. It is completely understandable, when you see police agencies from overseas who are particularly corrupt, that some victims, particularly immigrants, are afraid to make a report to the AFP in case it affects their visa status or perhaps have a distrust of police in general. Having been police officer and a prosecutor, I've seen that firsthand, so it's good to have a trusted, internationally recognised brand like the Australian Red Cross involved. It's very pleasing to see that, and I'm keen to see the outcome of this pilot.

Having said that, when dealing with third-party organisations, and even with our own internal entities, there needs to be appropriate checks and balances in place, so my question to the minister is: what are the checks and balances that will be implemented to protect the integrity of the proposed 18-month STPP referrals pilot program, and can the minister ensure that a review of the program and the results and findings will be reported to parliament? My second question is: can the minister outline the role of the New South Wales Anti-slavery Commissioner, particularly with reference to the sexual servitude space in the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children? Finally I would like to ask the minister to provide a concrete commitment to the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation to ensure that the important work that they are doing is adequately funded and resourced.

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