Tell the Australian Government to Give Us a Slavery Free Guarantee
- by: Walk Free
- recipient: The Hon Michael Keenan MP, Minister For Justice
Due to lax regulation, Australians are unwittingly spending up to $600 million a year on imported goods produced under slave labour conditions. [1]
It is an offence in Australia for companies to make a financial transaction involving a slave. Yet not one Australian company has ever been prosecuted for slavery in its supply chain, and the government is not monitoring which companies import slave-produced goods.
This is a problem because some of the most mundane things in our shopping trolleys are high-risk products for slave labour. Frozen prawns from Thailand, rice from India, and cheap toys from China are just three examples. [2]
In March 2013, the Commonwealth Government announced a strategy to ensure that all goods and services supplied to Government departments have a slavery-free supply chain. Giving us the same guarantee is the next step.
Join us in signing this petition, and tell the Government to give Australian consumers a Slavery Free Guarantee.
[1] Stop the Traffik, 'Report: Unshackling Laws Against Slavery', 2011
[2] http://www.dol.gov/ilab/reports/child-labor/list-of-goods/
Dear MP Keenan,
Every year, Australia imports around $600 million of products which may have been produced using slave labour.
It is already an offence for companies to make a financial transaction involving a slave, and the Commonwealth has taken steps to ensure that all goods and services provided to Government departments are slavery free.
I want to be able to shop with the same confidence, knowing that the products I buy don’t hurt the people who make them.
[Your comments here]
Please act to require that all companies importing goods for sale in Australia take reasonable steps to guarantee there is no slavery in the production processes.
Sincerely,
[Your name here]
