Josh Frydenberg (Kooyong, Liberal Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I recently met with an impressive delegation of students from Camberwell Girls Grammar School and Monash University. They were members of VGen, the youth branch of World Vision. Passionate about issues of social justice, these students raised with me the #FreeTo campaign and in particular the tragic issue of child labour.

The International Labour Organization has estimated that, of the 265 million children who were in employment in 2012, 168 million were working in conditions that can be characterised as child labour. In every corner of the world from Asia to the Middle East, Eastern Europe to the Caribbean and Latin America to sub-Saharan Africa the cruel practice of child labour can be found. Factories, mines and cocoa farms are all places where young children are sent against their will to work long hours at little or no pay and at great cost to their physical and mental wellbeing.

Having just had our first child, our beautiful baby girl, Gemma, I could not think of anything worse than to subject the innocence of youth to the depravity and abuse of child labour. We are representatives in this parliament, and on both sides of the House we have an obligation to do all that we can, working with our international partners, to prevent such human suffering. In the words of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:

Millions of children are victims of violence and exploitation … That is why children should always have the first claim on our attention and resources ... We know what to do, and … how to do it. The means are at hand, it is up to us to seize the opportunity and build a world that is fit for children.

He is so right, and that is why Australia is at the forefront of international efforts.

Just the other week at a meeting of the G20 labour and employment ministers, forced and child labour was discussed and strong words were included in the ministerial declaration. Earlier this year Australia joined with other nations in adopting a new International Labour Organization protocol to help eliminate forced labour in all its pernicious forms.

With 44 per cent of child labourers between five and 11 years of age, the world cannot sit still. I am thankful that VGen continue to be a strong advocate for change, and I look forward to working with them and the young and impressive delegation of Camberwell Girls Grammar School students and Monash University students to see what we can do to help rid the world of this scourge of child labour.