Human Trafficking
My colleague in the Legislative Council, The Hon. Robyn Parker, said in her Adjournment Speech:
I use this opportunity in the House to add my support to World Vision’s Don’t Trade Lives campaign, which focuses on human trafficking. It is estimated that human trafficking enslaves more than 27 million people around the world, mostly in developing countries, in forced labour, bonded labour, forced child labour and sexual servitude. Although it would be naïve to suggest that we are immune to it in Australia, statistics show that from January 2004 and September 2006 there were only a small number of convictions for human trafficking in Australia. Human trafficking occurs when people are recruited, transported and received through deception to work as slaves under fear of threats or abuse.
Children under 10 years can be sold by their parents to go and work in cities or in particular industries, where they can stay for years or even life. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimates that human trafficking generates approximately $31 billion a year, and is the third biggest crime in the world behind drugs and arms. Earlier this year the head of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Antonio Maria Costa, spoke at a United Nations conference on human trafficking in Vienna and said, “It’s a beast of which we only know the footprints but don’t know the size of it.”
According to United Nations figures, approximately 2.5 million people are trafficked around the world at any given time and 80 per cent are women and children. Certainly widespread calls have been made for more and improved data collection from around the world to determine the true extent of human trafficking, which is a major challenge.
World Vision’s Chief Executive in Australia, Tim Costello, recently visited Ghana and the Ivory Coast of Africa, where there is reportedly child exploitation of children in the cocoa industry. Approximately 600,000 children work in cocoa fields, with more than half failing to attend any schooling and many working in hazardous conditions.
Interestingly enough, Australia is one of the largest consumers of chocolate in the world—some of us more than others! But instead of calling on people to abandon chocolate, which would have a negative impact on poor working families in developing countries, World Vision is asking people to write to the Confectionery Manufacturers of Australasia, and express their concerns that manufacturers and retailers have a responsibility to make sure their supply chains are child labour and human trafficking free.
As consumers we have a responsibility to demand answers of where our products come from and how they are produced. As consumers we also have a responsibility to play our part in the supply chain and vote with out feet. Under the Howard Government greater action and funding were aimed at eradicating human trafficking. In 2003 the Government committed $20 million to address the issue. In 2005 Australia ratified the United Nations protocol to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in persons and new Federal offences came into force.
These were very welcome initiatives but we must be vigilant and continue this action. Research papers in this country back the United Nations argument that there are large gaps in information and statistics in the area of human trafficking. Filling the gaps would greatly help efforts to police, reduce and eradicate the problem. As an adjunct to this topic, I am pleased to see some of Australia’s corporate giants play their part in humanitarian and conservation endeavours.
Recently I was interested to see a sign at McDonald’s saying that the company had received Rainforest Alliance certification. So I did a bit of research on what this certification actually means. The Rainforest Alliance is an independent and non-profit environmental organisation working to conserve biodiversity and ensure sustainable livelihoods by transforming land-use practices, business practices and consumer behaviour. It aims to bring responsibly produced goods and services to consumers. I have brought along other products: Fair Trade chocolate and coffee. We as consumers in this place have responsibilities as well.
I have written to the Presiding Officers asking that we adopt the use of Fair Trade coffee and chocolate in our Parliament. I think it is the least we can do as leaders in the New South Wales community. We as consumers must all be more aware of the products we buy and how they are made. We must encourage retailers to stock products that are ethically produced.
I encourage members to look at products that are available on the shelves at supermarkets, large chains and at Oxfam. They are as good as any other products we would normally buy. We need to think about our actions and make a real difference to stop human trafficking. Local governments must enforce laws that prohibit child exploitation and trafficking. We must call on the Federal Government to increase its support of victims of human trafficking and contribute to the millennium development goals. I look forward to a response from the Presiding Officers in relation to adopting Fair Trade products in this Parliament.
The Hon. Robyn Parker MLC
