Source: Radio New Zealand
National and Labour are joining forces to get modern slavery legislation into Parliament, using a new process to skip the biscuit tin for the first time.
National’s Greg Fleming and Labour’s Camilla Belich have agreed to co-sponsor the bill.
The bill strengthens reporting to Parliament, brings in public naming and potential liability for directors and senior managers, along with fines up to $200,000 for companies that fail to report on modern slavery.
The move marks the first time Parliament has used a new rule allowing a bipartisan majority to have a member’s bill progress without being pulled from the ‘biscuit tin’ ballot.
It would also introduce civil penalties of up to $600,000, give the Human Rights Commission a formal role and create a public register of reports.
A capacity for future reviews would include the potential for establishment of an anti-slavery commissioner.
Labour’s Camilla Belich and National’s Greg Fleming. RNZ / Samuel Rillstone / Phil Smith
In a statement, Fleming said the issue of modern slavery was close to his heart and he had been working on the legislation since coming to Parliament.
“It’s time that New Zealand has a coordinated framework to deal with modern slavery, and this bill does just that,” he said.
Belich said the legislation would also bring New Zealand into line with partners like the United Kingdom and European Union.
“Workers in New Zealand and around the world should never face the horrors of modern slavery. It’s time New Zealand stood with other countries and acted,” she said.
“When we signed free trade agreements with these partners, we said we would act on modern slavery, and through this joint Bill we are keeping that promise. I’m proud that both sides of the House have come together to stand against exploitation, and grateful to the advocates, organisations and businesses who have pushed for this change.”
Parliament’s internal rules – called standing orders – were updated as part of a 2020 review with a new process enabling the automatic introduction of a member’s bill if it gets formal expressions of support from at least 61 non-executive MPs – those who are not ministers or Parliamentary under-secretaries.
The bill was lodged this morning, and with that rule – standing order 288 – invoked, it will be introduced to Parliament on the next sitting day, 10 February.
Thousands enslaved
One tracker estimated 8000 people in New Zealand were living in modern slavery, comparatively low compared to other countries – placing it 148th out of 160 states for slavery prevalence.
Police in August last year said they had 31 ongoing investigations into the matter.
World Vision found in 2019 that 5 percent of New Zealand’s total imports were shown to be linked to child labour or forced labour.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
