Today’s hearings into Jo Clay’s Modern Slavery Bill will continue the important community discussion about how the ACT should respond to modern slavery
“Modern slavery is part of our supply chains. It’s also something that takes place within the ACT,” said Jo Clay, ACT Greens member for Ginninderra.
“I’m really pleased to work with local businesses and the community on improving this bill to get a robust law in place to address this growing problem,” said Ms Clay. “Global estimates placed the number of people living in conditions of modern slavery at 50 million in 2021, up from 40 million in 2016. We heard evidence today that as many as 41,000 Australians might be living in conditions of modern slavery, quite apart from the impact from our global supply chains. We must work together to address this and take responsibility for the products we use and the working conditions we accept.”
Background
The committee received submissions from advocates and members of the community as well as the ACT Human Rights Commission, the NSW Anti-Slavery Commissioner, the ACT Law Society, ACTCOSS, the Salvation Army, the Freedom Hub and ACRATH (Australian Catholic Religious Against the Trafficking of Humans).
