Parliamentary inquiry demands action on migrant slavery

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By Leith van Onselen

More than two years after the 7-Eleven migrant worker scandal first broke, and 21 months after the Senate Education and Employment References Committee released its scathing report entitled A National Disgrace: The Exploitation of Temporary Work Visa Holders, the final report of the parliamentary inquiry into modern slavery has released its final report, which calls for the introduction of a modern slavery act, establishment of an anti-slavery commissioner, the creation of a compensation scheme for victims, as well as forcing large corporations to eliminate exploitation within in their supply chains:

The Committee heard strong support for key elements of the UK Act, including from businesses. There was particular support for the establishment of the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner and the introduction of global supply chain reporting requirements. The Committee recommends that the Australian Government introduce similar measures here, with a range of improvements as outlined in this report.

Specifically, the Committee recommends the establishment of an Australian Modern Slavery Act, including an Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner to lead and coordinate Australia’s response to combatting modern slavery. Evidence suggests that the UK Commissioner has made an important contribution to raising awareness of modern slavery, better coordinating UK law enforcement agencies and advocating for improved supports for victims.

The recommendation to establish a mandatory global supply chain reporting requirement for certain entities operating in Australia would require entities to take responsibility to ensure that they are not profiting, or gaining a competitive advantage, from modern slavery in their global supply chains. The Committee has further developed the recommendations from its interim report of August 2017 to outline how this reporting requirement should operate in Australia, improving on section 54 of the UK Act and the proposed model announced by the Minister for Justice on 16 August 2017…

The Committee found that there are still gaps in the way victims are identified and supported, and the way our criminal justice agencies cooperate to bring perpetrators to justice. The Committee recommends changes to the way Australia’s victim support programs operate, including by introducing a national compensation scheme. The Committee has also made a series of recommendations to improve coordination and training for Australia’s law enforcement and criminal justice agencies…

The Committee was also concerned by allegations of exploitation and slavery-like practices here in Australia, particularly for migrant workers and backpackers in regional areas. The Committee recommends that these workers be better protected through changes to Australia’s visa framework, particularly by eliminating or replacing ‘tied’ visa conditions and by introducing a national labour hire licensing scheme.

Modern slavery describes some of the greatest crimes of our time. The recommendations from this inquiry make a significant contribution to ensuring that, here in Australia, we are doing all we can to eradicate these crimes.

Chapter 9 of the report explicitly deals with Labour exploitation and Australia’s visa framework.

Let’s hope the Turnbull Government takes concerted action to end the exploitation and rorting.

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About the author
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.