Inquiry finds need for modern slavery laws in Australia

A call for Australia to establish modern slavery laws and appoint a special commissioner were among almost 50 recommendations of a parliamentary inquiry.

There are an estimated 40 million victims of modern slavery, including 4300 in Australia, and one local victim, a Fijian man who worked 12 hour days, seven days a week but never received a pay check, was among those to give evidence to the parliamentary inquiry, according to AAP.

The committee last week handed down its report along with 49 recommendations, including more training for the federal police and immigration department officials, a compensation scheme for victims, an education campaign to discourage Australians from taking part in orphanage tourism which exploits children, and an overhaul of tied visas that can put migrant workers at risk of being exploited on farms.

In separate news, global consumer advocacy organisation SumOfUs is calling on Goodman Fielder to strengthen and clarify its palm oil procurement policy to bring it into line with other global food giants, such as Kellogg, Mars, and Ferrero.

SumOfUs said a new report finds high risks of child labour and forced labour conditions in Goodman Fielder’s supply-chain through its parent Wilmar International, which uses RSPO-Certified palm oil.

SumOfUs said that RSPO certification is inadequate, and is calling on Goodman Fielder to ensure that its palm oil meets the ‘no deforestation, no peat, and no worker exploitation’ benchmark, and guarantee that all of the palm oil used in its products come from responsibly sourced palm oil suppliers.