Street Maryan: Customs and Excise (Prohibition of Imports Made by Slave Labour) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Street Maryan: Customs and Excise (Prohibition of Imports Made by Slave Labour) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:656;Page:5298] 
Hon MARYAN STREET (Labour) 
: 
 I first pay tribute to my gifted colleague Charles Chauvel for his assistance in drafting the Customs and Excise (Prohibition of Imports Made by Slave Labour) Amendment Bill. I also pay tribute to members who have spoken with seriousness and some gravitas on the issue because it deserves nothing less. 
I will quote from schedule 1 of the Customs and Excise Act 1996 which my bill seeks to amend. It states: “Goods manufactured or produced wholly or in part by prison labour or within or in connection with any prison jail or penitentiary excluding a bona fide gift made by a prisoner for the personal use of a private individual also goods similar in character to those manufactured or produced in such institutions when sold or offered for sale by any person firm or corporation having a contract for the manufacture or production of such articles in such institutions or by an agent of such person firm or corporation or when originally purchased from or transferred by any such contractor.” It is quite complicated but it has not been beyond the wit of somebody to come up with a clause to prohibit the importation of goods produced wholly or in part by prison labour. It has not been beyond the wit of somebody to come up with that clause. It is not beyond our wit collectively to come up with a solution to the difficulties of definition and enforcement. 
The world is changing. The old economic order is no more and advocates of it and of the old economic orthodoxy no longer have a leg to stand on. This is the moment to attempt to find new ways through. This is the moment to attempt to find new financial structures new economic agreements new transparency and accountability and a new social contract. This is the moment when we should be brave imaginative and creative and more than anything because we all agree with the purpose of this bill we should be able collectively to arrive at a workable solution. Just because something is hard that does not make it impossible and it certainly does not make it not worth trying. 
I appreciate the words of the Minister of Trade Tim Groser who said that the conversation will continue. I look forward to engaging further in the conversation about how we might achieve the ends of this bill. But I have to say that an effort of will is required for this to be done. It cannot be beyond the wit of this House and the officials who serve it to come up with a workable solution to a problem that we collectively identify. I appeal to the National Government to change its mind on this vote so that possibilities can be explored. Simply seeking to have this legislation referred to a select committee for consideration would be an act of empathy and act of principle that at least demonstrates that the conversation is open and is still happening. 
One thing we can be certain of is that if we do nothing nothing will happen. This is the moment when we need to think about new ways of transacting our relationships and of accounting not only to our own citizens but to citizens internationally for our actions and the choices we make. This is an ethical issue. Ethical trade will in the future be the only trade that is allowed and there is no reason why this House should not be preparing this country for that. Thank you.