Debate resumed, on motion by Mr Pyne:

That the House:

(1)

notes:

(a)

today there are hundreds of thousands of children working on cocoa farms in Ivory Coast and Ghana and that these children routinely carry heavy loads, and work with fire, chemicals and knives, with little or no protection. Many of them have no chance of going to school;

(b)

about 70 per cent of the cocoa beans used to make chocolate around the world come from West Africa, namely Ivory Coast and Ghana; and

(c)

the principal reason that child labour is employed to grow cocoa is because cocoa farmers are paid so poorly for their produce;

(2)

commends World Vision Australia for its ‘Don’t Trade Lives’ campaign to draw attention to the plight of child exploitation in the world today; and

(3)

calls on the Prime Minister to take action to ensure that the chocolate industry knows Australia is serious about ending child exploitation and slavery by introducing a policy requiring vending machines in Australian Government offices to stock Fair Trade Chocolate exclusively.

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