I rise to place on record and, like many of my colleagues and those opposite, to show my support for eradicating modern slavery. My remarks tonight probably will be in a similar theme to most speakers on this issue tonight. Whilst it probably won't make the news tonight or even be talked about across dinner tables while people are picking up their groceries on their way home or sitting in transport, waiting to get home to their loved ones, it is indeed a serious issue. After researching in preparation for this legislation and reading some of the evidence, it's a far bigger problem than most Australians and people across the globe would expect it to be. I know I was one of those people who was genuinely horrified and shocked about the true nature of modern slavery. As MPs in this place, we have a duty to stand up for those who find themselves in vulnerable circumstances—I certainly pride myself on that as an elected representative in this chamber—and the sad issue of modern slavery certainly fits this category.

Modern slavery is a term that can be used to describe a range of extreme labour rights abuses including: slavery, servitude, human trafficking and forced or compulsory labour. If you were to ask someone out on the street or across Australia whether slavery still exists today, the answer you'd get, no doubt, would be no. There's no denying that slavery is one of the most heinous human rights abuses possible. But there are more people trapped in slavery in the world today than there have been at any other time in human history. Let's just unpack that for a minute. Across our history, across this world, there are more people trapped in slavery than there have ever been.

Even though almost every country in the world has laws against slavery and the practice was banned globally by the United Nations in 1926 and again in 1953, modern slavery continues as an issue of huge proportions. Indeed, the Human Rights Law Centre estimates that there are currently in excess of 25 million slaves worldwide, including almost 5,000 right here in Australia. It's hard to believe, and it's hard to understand. According to the Attorney-General's Department, between 2004 and 31 December 2015 the AFP took 619 referrals for human trafficking, slavery and slavery-like practices, meaning that there are many more who go unnoticed and without the help they need.

I'm proud that the Labor Party has been at the forefront of this fight. We continue that fight here today because all of us, in this chamber and outside this chamber, do not tolerate human rights abuses. We recognise that modern slavery continues to be a hidden problem that will not be resolved without meaningful attempts to expose it. That's why last year, after months and months of consultation with stakeholders, Labor announced our modern slavery policy. We met with not only not-for-profit organisations working at the coalface against modern slavery but businesses and groups such as the BCA; ACCI, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Wesfarmers; Rio Tinto; BHP Billiton; Woolworths; Ernst & Young; and Fortescue Metals Group, just to name a few. That is because we are serious about an inclusive policy that works alongside the not-for-profits, the business sector, advocacy groups and community to stop modern slavery. What resulted was a constructed and strategic policy to help the thousands of victims right here in Australia and the millions and millions of people trapped in slavery worldwide, many of whom are victims of exploitation in private sector activities such as manufacturing, construction and agriculture.

Australia has an important leadership role to play in fighting modern slavery. Two-thirds of people trapped in slavery worldwide are reported to be in the Asia-Pacific region. I was pleased at the time to see our policy warmly greeted by business, civil society and the union movement, and we were joined by representatives from the BCA, the Business Council; the ACTU; and the Salvation Army. Our policy announcement included a commitment to establishing a Modern Slavery Act with transparency in a supply-chain mechanism which contained penalties for noncompliance and, most importantly, the establishment of an independent antislavery commissioner.

I'm pleased to be here today with members of the government—I note there were five government members who spoke on this important bill today—and join with the government, who are now following Labor's crackdown on modern slavery. I applaud them for that, and I recognise the government's response to strengthen Australia's response to modern slavery by establishing a modern slavery reporting requirement.

However, like most things this government produces, it falls well short of what I believe is required and is accepted. This includes the government refusing, as we've just heard from the member from Wills and other speakers—and no doubt the member for Canberra and the member for Bendigo, who are in the chamber tonight, will endorse this—to include penalties for companies that breach the proposed Modern Slavery Act. Yes, it seems there's no piece of legislation where this government wants to offend big business. I simply ask the question tonight: what's the purpose of this legislation if it doesn't have the teeth needed to impose penalties on businesses which continue to flout it and, dare I say, profit from modern slavery?

Any modern slavery act must have penalties for noncompliance. We should not be leaving big business to police themselves on slavery. In the three years since the United Kingdom implemented a similar ban only approximately half of the 9,000 to 11,000 organisations the UK government estimates are required to report have produced a slavery and human-trafficking statement. The evidence is clear: this type of self-reporting system simply does not work, so why has the government chosen to have a business engagement unit instead of an independent antislavery commission? According to an ABC report:

Adeline Lambert is the director of analytics and customer experience at Made In A Free World, an organisation that works with businesses to stop human trafficking and modern slavery in supply chains.

…   …   …

As it stands, the bill does not impose any penalties, financial or otherwise, on companies who fail to report slavery risks in their supply chain.

Because of this, Adeline Lambert said "companies could look at this bill and say 'there's a way we can get around this'."

Keren Adams, a Director of Legal Advocacy at the Australian Human Rights Law Centre, agrees.

"A mandatory reporting scheme is not really mandatory if there are no consequences for companies that fail to comply," she said in a statement.

Again I ask members of the government: what's the point of this bill if there are no penalties? Without financial penalties and an independent commissioner to help enforce them, these new laws lack the necessary teeth to ensure the worst offenders lift their game. The list of stakeholders who support the introduction of penalties in this bill is long and wide. I read into the Hansard a number of these, including, unsurprisingly, the Australian Council of Trade Unions, the Law Council of Australia, the Human Rights Law Centre, the Queensland University of Technology Faculty of Law, Australian Lawyers for Human Rights and the Australian Lawyers Alliance.

I'm pleased to see that Labor is moving amendments to this bill to introduce penalties for companies that fail to comply with the modern slavery act and is calling on the government to establish an office of an independent antislavery commissioner. We need an independent commissioner to assist victims, not just a support unit for big business. They are not the victims in this horrendous modern slavery trade. The support for an independent antislavery commissioner is strong out in the community, including in the following submission:

The Law Council is concerned that the Bill does not establish an Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner (Commissioner). In the Law Council's view, the case for an Anti-Slavery Commissioner was well-made in the Hidden in Plain Sight report, which notes that it would complement the existing roles of the Attorney-General's Department and the Ambassador for People Smuggling and Human Trafficking.

The Australian Lawyers Alliance added, with reference to that same report:

The Committee was clearly of the view that an independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner could play a vital role in strengthening Australia's response to combatting modern slavery. In particular, the Committee envisaged that the Commissioner would undertake a legislated review of the Modern Slavery Act every three years after its commencement, to assess the effectiveness of the Act, the level of public awareness of modern slavery and the effectiveness of the operation of the proposed supply chain reporting requirements.

Even the Business Council of Australia said:

We are open to any form of independent oversight, like the UK Anti-Slavery Commissioner model, if it works constructively with businesses to lift performance.

Instead the government's decision to walk away from an independent commissioner in exchange for a business engagement unit shows in my view where their primary concern is. Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand noted:

The Business Engagement Unit is not an adequate alternative to a Commissioner particularly given their own reporting requirements under the law—and their necessary relationships with business outside of the context of modern slavery.

In contrast, Labor's modern slavery act would require large companies to report annually to the government on the steps they've taken to ensure modern slavery is not occurring in their business or supply chain through a slavery and human-trafficking statement. Each statement must include specific information about the company's supply chain, where a risk has been identified in that supply chain, what steps are being undertaken to ensure slavery is not part of the supply chain, what training is provided to staff on these matters, whether slavery has been found in the supply chain and then what action has been taken subsequently. Despite the huge numbers I read out earlier that indicate we have almost 5,000 modern slaves in Australia tonight at this very moment in time, recent Senate estimates revealed that we've had only seven slavery convictions in half a decade. Simply put, that's unacceptable. We urgently need a commissioner to help victims and crack down on this sickening crime.

Victims of modern slavery are often incredibly vulnerable and face cultural, social, economic and language barriers. There have also been significant gaps in the support services we provide for victims of modern slavery. A commissioner would assist to remedy these gaps in enforcement, help victims and work with civil society to help prevent and detect slavery in Australia.

As was reported earlier this year, Australia is not alone in proposing such laws. Business reporting on human rights is a growing trend, with a large number of jurisdictions having introduced reporting or due diligence requirements in recent years. Some Australian companies already report under the UK act. In addition, comparable laws have been introduced across the European Union and in some states and sectors in the United States. Denmark has laws requiring corporate social responsibility reporting, and in Brazil there is a 'dirty list' enabling public shaming of businesses using forced labour. In 2017 the French parliament introduced a new due diligence law on Human Rights and the environment for businesses. Other European countries are also in the process of developing comparable laws, such as the Netherlands' child labour due diligence laws, and I believe Australia must and should follow suit. Before us today we have that opportunity to do so and play a lead role in eradicating modern slavery.

I note that the minister said in his second reading speech on this bill:

2018 is a landmark year in terms of tackling modern slavery within Australia.

We have a moral imperative to eradicate this practice from our supply chains and our businesses.

I say to those opposite that we have an opportunity to do just that, just as the minister said in his second reading speech. If we support the amendments in this bill moved by Labor and get serious about eradicating modern slavery, we can get this done.

In conclusion, tonight I do want to acknowledge the bipartisan nature of the way that this issue has been handled, even though we have moved amendments tonight. In particular, on this side of the chamber I acknowledge the dedication and hard work of our shadow justice minister, the member for Hotham, but also the work of Senator Lisa Singh and Senator Louise Pratt, who have been at the forefront, championing this issue and making sure that it is in the public arena and that those people who are trapped in slavery in Australia and across the world do have a voice and do have an opportunity to be freed from the situation they're in. That is the hard work of many members on this side of the chamber but also across the government as well.

If the offer of bipartisanship on this stands, we must work together to strengthen the penalties against modern slavery and to ensure that there is adequate oversight against this cruel measure to make it end once and for all.