Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Hansard source

The maxim ‘think globally, act locally’ is one that every member of this House should bear in mind when confronted with facts such as those set out in this motion. It is overwhelming to think that, as we sit here, children as young as six are being forced to work 80 to 100 hours per week to produce the raw ingredients for products that we consume here in Australia, to produce products that most members have probably consumed this week if not today—particularly the former member for Corinella, now the member for McMillan.

I have been corresponding with members of the government about the issue of child slavery and the cocoa industry since it was first brought to my attention by the Reverend Tim Costello in April this year. In April I wrote to the Prime Minister asking him to use the Australian government’s purchasing power to support people, especially children, who are victims of trafficking and slavery by stocking only Fairtrade chocolate in vending machines in Australian government buildings. As I pointed out to the Prime Minister, it is a simple economic principle that what the consumer demands, the manufacturer will supply.

The Parliamentary Secretary for International Development Assistance responded to my initial letter to the Prime Minister by outlining a number of steps that the government is already taking to address labour rights abuses in the cocoa industry. I was informed by the Parliamentary Secretary for International Development Assistance that the government supports the voluntary use of labels domestically to certify that imported goods have been produced without exploiting children. I was also informed that the Confectionary Manufacturers of Australasia are currently supporting an action plan, agreed to under the 2001 Harkin-Engel Protocol, to establish a global certification system. I am sure I do not need to point out to members that this protocol was agreed to in 2001 and that it is now 2008.

Not only has the cocoa industry been slow to act; it is now breaching deadlines that it has set itself. On 1 July 2008 the chocolate industry failed to meet yet another deadline to tackle labour exploitation in West African cocoa fields. World Vision has called on the Australian chocolate industry to make a genuine attempt to tackle the root causes of child labour and exploitation in cocoa production. This parliament should do the same. The Confectionery Manufacturers of Australasia, on behalf of Australian chocolate manufacturers, have been asked to make a statement that they are actively committed to eliminating the worst forms of child labour and exploitation from their cocoa supply chains and to guarantee farmers a fair price for their cocoa, an initiative I am sure all members of the House would support. I look forward to speakers from the government endorsing that goal.

The Confectionery Manufacturers of Australasia have been asked to publicly outline a detailed and costed plan of action to ensure that our products are free of child labour and exploitation by 1 December 2008 and to commit US$14 million per year for the next 10 years, or approximately one per cent of industry revenue in Australia, to the rollout of this plan.

Point 93 of chapter 14 of the 2007 Labor Party platform, I am sure I do not need to remind honourable members of the government, states:

Labor will also give high priority to supporting international efforts to eradicate the exploitation of child labour.

The parliamentary secretary specifically acknowledges that ‘practical measures are required to protect children effectively’ and cites the following examples as practical measures taken by the government to address the root causes of exploitative child labour practices: Australia’s international development assistance program, Australia’s support of UNICEF, Australia’s ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and its two optional protocols, and Australia’s ratification of the International Labour Organisation Convention 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour.

I accept and acknowledge these facts as important measures in the fight against child slavery but, with all due respect, isn’t all this good work undone by the fact that I could go to any vending machine in any Australian government building and purchase a chocolate bar that contains cocoa farmed by child slaves? How can the government claim that Australia is serious about eradicating child labour when it will not even use its own purchasing power to send a clear message to the chocolate manufacturers of the world that they must do more to stamp out slavery?

This government claims that ‘since control of concession agreements under which vending machines are operated was developed to individual agencies, there is no centralised control which would facilitate enforcing a requirement that all vending machines in Australian Government offices sell only fair trade chocolate’. That sounds like something the Prime Minister would say. Why bother doing the diplomatic hard yards of ratifying UN conventions and protocols and funding aid agencies and UNICEF when we cannot even ensure that chocolate consumed by employees of the Australian government is not made from cocoa farmed by child slaves? This government appears to be thinking globally, but I cannot urge them strongly enough to start acting locally. In every aspect of our lives, we can all act towards eliminating trafficking and slavery in our lifetime.

My office has recently been certified as a fair trade workplace by the Fair Trade Association of Australia and New Zealand, but I note with sadness that I am the only Australian member of parliament whose office is certified. I am sure that everyone present tonight will rush out to make sure that their office is certified as a fair trade workplace. I encourage all members to take action to convert their office to a fair trade workplace by complying with two simple goals: (1) using fair trade certified products within your workplace and (2) promoting fair trade within your workplace.

I am holding a ‘Walk Against Child Slavery’ in my electorate on 22 November to coincide with the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery. The walk will consist of a series of interactive stations that will highlight the key issues that affect millions of children around the world who are victims of modern-day slavery. The aim of the stations is to educate the community on the extent of the global problem and how they can respond positively to stop the exploitations of children around the world. The stations will show how and where children are being trapped in conditions of slavery and what Australians can do to be part of the solution. I am delighted that the Reverend Tim Costello has agreed to be part of my Walk Against Child Slavery on 22 November and will be present to speak and lend his support to my campaign to change the way the Australian government purchases its confectionary.

These two projects have not been onerous ones. I cannot ask the government to act locally if I am not prepared to do the same. I ask that all members do everything in their power to support international efforts to eradicate the exploitation of child labour by acting locally. It is not an onerous task for the Prime Minister of Australia to ask that his department ensure that the chocolate offered for sale in the vending machines in offices of Australian government departments is fair trade certified chocolate. It is a small thing to ask. The reality is that when a public servant turns up to their vending machine and finds that the bar they have been used to purchasing is not available, they will inevitable ask, ‘Where is X, Y or Z chocolate bar?’ When they get told that it is not fair trade chocolate, it will spread virally throughout Australia and the world that at least the Australian government has been prepared to act. It will be one of those trigger points that cause the whole world to change the way it views the production of cocoa and to demand a fair price for a fair day’s work in West Africa; it will change the way we operate around the world. I urge members to support this motion and I look forward to the support of Bruce Billson, the shadow minister for cities and sustainable development and member for Dunkley, a longstanding member of this House who will be supporting this motion.

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