McClay Todd: Customs and Excise (Prohibition of Imports Made by Slave Labour) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
McClay Todd: Customs and Excise (Prohibition of Imports Made by Slave Labour) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:656;Page:5296] 
TODD McCLAY (National—Rotorua) 
: 
 Kia ora. I rise to speak on the Customs and Excise (Prohibition of Imports Made by Slave Labour) Amendment Bill. I start by commending the Hon Maryan Street for bringing the legislation to the House as a member’s bill. Of course previously the Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade Committee spent some time considering the issue. 
I start by addressing what others have said: there is a widely accepted feeling in the international community towards slavery; therefore it is not necessary to repeat it. I wish to state clearly that slavery is something that is absolutely not acceptable. Indeed under international law it is not possible. I believe that all members of this House have a strong view on this issue and in fact there will be few people in New Zealand who do not have a strong view on it. Having said that indications are that up to 12 million people in the world are involved in some form of slavery or slave labour and in many cases their human rights are abused or taken away from them. It is a sad reality of the world in which we live in 2009 that some countries still have not recognised that human rights are important. It is also important that as a House we look at effective means to stop this practice and to make people’s lives better. Sadly I am not sure that a unilateral bill will make the difference that we would all like to make. 
There are a number of reasons for this position. As I said slavery is absolutely prohibited in international law but we must look for more effective means. I am very happy to say that as a member of Parliament I will support any action that will have a meaningful effect upon slavery—to prohibit it stop it and drive it out of countries elsewhere—but sadly this bill will not do that. The reason it will not do it I believe is that manufacturing in the world today is much more complex than it was back in 1930 when the United States banned slavery. That legislation was passed in 1930. If we were in the climate of trade trade law and trade rules of the world that was in place in 1930 then the bill might have some effect. We must take our obligation seriously. I am not sure—in fact I doubt greatly—whether if we were to pass the bill into law in New Zealand we would be able to police it or to make it effective and whether it would have any effect at all. It is admirable that we pay attention and give voice to the issue but I think we need to look for real action that will have a real effect. 
The Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade Committee debated this issue and reported back to the House in February this year. The committee recommended that the Government continue to pursue vigorously multichannel efforts to eliminate slavery not simply in law but also in practice. A number of international bodies are focused on the issue—for example the United Nations Human Rights Council and the International Labour Organization—and a number of conventions that New Zealand is party to are to do with forced labour and the abolition of forced labour.  
The OECD has focused on the issue. There has been wide discussion and wide debate on it. The question is whether wide discussion and debate is enough. I believe that the answer to that question is no it is not enough. Merely discussing this issue in the House or elsewhere will not in itself have the desired effect that we all want. Therefore what can be done? 
I would like members to think back to some years ago. Internationally there was wide discussion around conflict diamonds primarily coming from West Africa a part of the world where there has been much fighting and war. Many of these diamonds—in fact all of them—were taken out of the ground because of slavery. Slaves were held and made to work at gunpoint. Different parts of the world and different countries have said they want to do something about this issue and to ban it. But it was only effectively banned when the world came together and focused on it. We decided that we would ban conflict diamonds and therefore diamonds being produced through slavery in this way effectively stopped. It is my understanding from reading the newspapers and contacting those involved with this campaign that very few conflict diamonds are sold in the world today—or at least in developed countries. It is important to recognise that. 
The reason it is important is that slavery in other parts of the world will finally be stopped. Not only will it be pushed out of sight but people will have rights and those rights will be enforced. When the world comes together we must do so at a multilateral level through the United Nations in cooperation with others. I commend the Hon Maryan Street but will not be able to support the bill. Thank you.