Darren Chester (Gippsland, National Party, Shadow Minister for Regional Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Modern Slavery Amendment (Australian Anti-Slavery Commissioner) Bill 2023. This bill establishes an Australian Anti-Slavery Commissioner as a statutory appointment in the Attorney-General's portfolio. It builds on the coalition's world-leading record of combating modern slavery. The term 'modern slavery' is an umbrella term. It's used to describe all human trafficking, slavery and slavery-like offences in our Criminal Code. It can refer to human trafficking, forced labour and servitude, debt bondage, forced marriage and the very worst forms of child labour, including the commercial sexual exploitation of children and the exploitation of children for illegal activities, such as drug trafficking.

Modern slavery can occur in every industry and every sector, but, regardless of the circumstances, it has severe consequences for victims. Modern slavery practices distort global markets, undercut responsible businesses and pose significant risk to entities that find themselves inadvertently benefiting from slavery practices at some point in a supply chain. It's an egregious abuse of the dignity and the rights of the individual, and that is why the coalition has been fighting modern slavery for many years. It was a coalition government that first introduced slavery offences into Australia's Criminal Code, through the Criminal Code Amendment (Slavery and Sexual Servitude) Bill 1999. Prior to that point, the law on slavery and the slave trade had been governed by 19th-century imperial acts. Those acts employed archaic language and related to outdated circumstances and institutions that had either changed or long since fallen into disuse. It was a coalition government in 2018 that passed the Modern Slavery Act 2018. This was a transparency measure to shine a light on the slavery risks in international supply chains, and to help businesses better control their own risks and the business models of those who profit from the servitude of others.

Consistently, it has been the coalition governments that have brought a coordinated and strategic approach to the fight against slavery and human trafficking. This coordinated approach started with the Australian government's 2004 action plan to eradicate trafficking in persons,which was released when John Howard was the Prime Minister. It was succeeded in 2015 by the National action plan to combat human trafficking and slavery 2015-19,which laid the foundation for our current framework. Most recently, we have been shown the way forward by the National action plan to combat modern slavery 2020-25, which was released by my colleague and friend the member for La Trobe. Australia has benefited from the coalition's multidecade-long fight against slavery and human trafficking, and Australia has also benefited from the coordinated, multipillar approach to modern slavery for which we've always advocated.

It is worth reflecting on those other pillars in our strategy against modern slavery. They help to put this current bill into context. There are five national strategic priorities that provide the foundation to our fight against modern slavery.

The first national strategic priority is about prevention. Doing things like addressing risks in global supply chains, and stopping forced marriage in Australia, help cut off modern slavery at the root.

The second national strategic priority is rooted in the justice system and criminal law. It is to disrupt, investigate and prosecute modern slavery. Our national action plan is clear: where we encounter slavery, human trafficking and similar offences, perpetrators must be held to account by our police and investigative agencies.

The third national strategic priority is about supporting and protecting survivors. This means supporting victims and survivors, who are predominantly women and girls. It also means working with civil society and businesses.

The fourth national strategic priority is partnership. It means working with state and territory governments, victims, civil society and international partners. Modern slavery is a global problem that needs cross-border solutions.

The fifth national strategic priority is research. We need a strong evidence base to support our response to these crimes.

These five priorities, established in 2020 by the former coalition government, provide the framework that has consistently shaped the approach we have taken to modern slavery. One of our core achievements in the field, the Modern Slavery Act, aligns with these priorities not only by identifying slavery risks in global supply chains but also by building an evidence base about practices around the world.

Similarly, on the coalition side, the calls we have made for Magnitsky-style solutions in response to forced labour and other abuses in the Xinjiang province align with actions taken by our like-minded peers. Australia should be collaborating with international partners to call out and address modern slavery issues, including by applying the coalition's Magnitsky-style sanctions to hold those responsible to account. In Australia, where we encounter slavery, human trafficking and similar offences, perpetrators are held to account by the police and investigative agencies who enforce our criminal laws. Yet, when these same offences are encountered overseas, including by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Albanese Labor government has shied away from using existing tools that are already available to it. Despite the coalition offering the government bipartisan support to do so, this Labor government has refused to take concrete action in holding perpetrators in Xinjiang to account by joining with our international partners to impose Magnitsky-style sanctions. We should do so. As our work over many years has made clear, to fight effectively against modern slavery you need to coordinate your efforts across multiple fronts, and taking action in one area—for example, by establishing a new commissioner—does not alleviate the need for action on the other fronts. Whatever this bill does do, it does not take concrete steps to combat modern slavery on the international stage.

By establishing an Australian Anti-Slavery Commissioner, this bill provides an enabling effect. The commissioner's functions, as set out in the legislation, generally relate to support, liaison, encouragement, consultation and advocacy. The commissioner would be influential in shaping responses to modern slavery, but, in many respects, the direct outcomes would be delivered by others. That is why we describe it as an enabling effect. For example, the commissioner will play a role in engaging closely with businesses in relation to slavery issues in international supply chains. However, the commissioner will not be responsible for administering the Modern Slavery Statements Register. Similarly, the commissioner could play a role in identifying slavery risks in Australia and overseas. However, they would not replace the police when it comes to investigating slavery offences; nor would the commissioner duplicate the functions of Australia's Ambassador to Counter Modern Slavery, People Smuggling and Human Trafficking.

Importantly, however, this educative and enabling role has been welcomed by business and civil society. In keeping with our national strategic priority of collaboration, groups like the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Business Council of Australia have welcomed the opportunity to work with the commissioner to further address slavery risks. This is a welcome signal from the business community.

This bill has been referred to a Senate committee for inquiry, and we expect to see its report in the coming weeks. We will finalise our position on the bill following that report. One of the things we hope the committee looks at is whether this bill provides for the most appropriate use of resources. Establishing the commissioner will come at a cost of around $8 million over the forward estimates and around $2 million per year ongoing. Could these funds be better spent supporting the other parts of our National Action Plan to Combat Modern Slavery? For example, would we be better off investing that money to improve the investigative capacity of our law enforcement agencies? Would we see better results if we instead invested in practical measures to support businesses with complex international supply chains?

I have no doubt that all sides of the chamber are in furious agreement on the outcome that modern slavery needs to be stopped wherever we encounter it, but that does not absolve us of the responsibility of asking hard questions about whether the Australian people are getting the best possible bang for their buck. In meantime, we on this side of the chamber will continue to argue for an effective, multipronged and coordinated response to modern slavery. I thank the House.

Debate adjourned.