Stirling Griff (SA, Centre Alliance) Share this | Hansard source

Centre Alliance supports this bill as a much-needed first step towards tackling the issues of modern slavery in business supply chains. According to the 2018 Global Slavery Index, over $10 billion worth of goods imported each year into Australia may have been produced under conditions of slave labour—$10 billion. Amongst the highest-risk goods are those found in every Australian household and workplace, such as clothing, mobile phones and computers. That is billions of dollars spent by our nation to reward the reprehensible scum who feed off this evil and insidious trade in human lives.

Although it is less prevalent here than in some overseas countries, we must also not forget that, to our greatest shame, Australia is not immune from modern slavery, with an estimated 15,000 people on any given day trapped in this misery. Sit down with any Australian and ask if they would knowingly prefer to buy something—say a pair of shoes—which has been made through slave labour, shoes that have been made by a human being just like them except that, instead of being free to live their life, that person is forced through deception, through threats of violence or because they are a defenceless child, to work endless hours per day in unbearable and unsafe conditions for little or no pay and with little hope of escape. Ask any Australian, and the answer is always a resounding no. Ask any ordinary Australian if they would be happy for their taxes to be spent supporting this immoral conduct—again, a resounding no. So how is it possible that, as a nation that prides itself on fairness and compassion, we are potentially paying billions of dollars per year perpetuating slavery?

A major part of this problem is that we do this because we don't know about it, and we don't know about it because modern slavery is hidden. Take, for example, one of our biggest spenders of public money: Defence. Four years ago, Australian-owned Rossi Boots lost out on a $15 million contract to supply boots to the Australian Defence Force. Rossi Boots is based in South Australia and has manufactured footwear in my home state since 1910. Its employees are paid a living wage and they work in regulated and very safe conditions. The Department of Defence chose instead to award the tender for these army boots to a company which supplies boots manufactured in Indonesia, a country that has slave labour.

To its credit, Indonesia has made significant progress in the last 25 years towards stopping child labour and has committed to eliminating it completely by 2022. But, at the present time, child labour still exists there. Indonesia is also committed to combating other forms of modern slavery. Nevertheless, it has been estimated that currently more than 1.2 million people in Indonesia live in conditions of modern slavery.

Rossi Boots was reportedly advised that its bid was unsuccessful because of 'value-for-money considerations'. It's a no-brainer that paying workers properly rather than treating them as slaves will result in a product that costs a bit more. So are the boots of our Defence Force personnel tainted with slavery that has been subsidised by the Australian taxpayer? The answer is: I seriously hope not, but we simply don't know, and that is precisely the point of this very important bill.

I join with my colleague Rex Patrick in acknowledging the ongoing contribution of Skye Kakoschke-Moore to tackling this issue through her work, both previously in the Senate and as a special adviser to the International Justice Mission, the world's largest antislavery organisation. I also reiterate that this bill is not perfect, but what it will do is begin to shine a light into the dark and noxious crevices where modern slavery festers.

If passed, this legislation will require entities with substantial market power, specifically the Commonwealth and companies with a turnover greater than $100 million per annum, firstly to turn their mind to the issue of slavery within their supply chains and, secondly, to publicly identify what they are doing to mitigate the risk that slavery is occurring within those supply chains. Accordingly, implementation of the provisions of this bill will start to give some assurance to the public that care is being taken to prevent taxpayer money going to fund unconscionable practices. Its implementation will also enable the public to see exactly what large corporations are doing to identify and expunge this scourge from their businesses and hold to account companies that are not doing the right thing.

In making information about a company's antislavery credentials publicly available, the silence of companies that fail to report will be deafening. I believe that in the near future any such silence will pose a significant reputational risk, so I look forward to this legislation initiating a race to the top by corporate Australia, a race that will see companies not otherwise required to report choosing voluntarily to do so. Indeed, there are already Australian companies doing business by doing the right thing. I want to mention one of them here: Outland Denim. Outland Denim came to worldwide attention when, on her recent trip to Australia, the Duchess of Sussex chose to wear a pair of their jeans. Outland Denim employs women rescued from human trafficking in Cambodia and uses only ethically- and environmentally-sound raw material in their product lines. The company considers transparency to be the key to keeping supply chains above reproach, and prominently lists on the company website the names of their suppliers and information about their practices. Outland Denim is leading the way in terms of ethical supply chains and is a great Australian success story that deserves to be celebrated.

Centre Alliance commends this bill as a much-needed first step, but also retains a number of concerns with the bill. These include the fact that no penalty is imposed for noncompliance with reporting requirements and that the bill makes no provision for listing the names of all companies required to report. That, in particular, is a very important consideration. Such a list would, in our view, provide for greater transparency and accountability in the reporting framework.

In addition, we consider that the failure of the bill to establish an antislavery commissioner is a missed opportunity for ensuring this issue is comprehensively dealt with. As the UK experience has shown, an antislavery commissioner would play an invaluable role in overseeing the operation of the legislation; raising awareness of modern slavery; educating and assisting government agencies and companies with identification; and mitigation of risks of modern slavery in supply chains.

Centre Alliance will be voting for this bill, but we will continue to advocate strongly for measures to be implemented that will ensure it is delivering on its objective, to root out this filthy trade.