Susan Kneebone Emeritus Associate Castan Centre 17 May 2013

 Incudes ‘labour trafficking’  A ‘bifurcated’ approach to human trafficking distorts the focus  The exploitation covered by the Trafficking Protocol includes ‘labour trafficking’  Forced labour is an extreme example of exploitation

 Australia:  The early response to trafficking focused on prostitution and illegal migration  The legislation reflected that focus  The ‘457’ visa issue  International students

 It is connected  The region knew from the beginning that ‘human trafficking’ = people moving to work  Victims of labour trafficking are (mostly) migrant workers  It is a transnational issue (mostly)  [But we need to recognise internal trafficking]

 The anti- trafficking framework requires  Prevention  Protection and  Cooperation (Federal \ state and transnational)

 We need campaigns targeted at particular industries  Eg, construction, hospitality, plus international students  We need to bring in the unions and other labour abuse scrutineers  To recognise the human rights dimension …

 A focus on protection brings the victim into the picture  Without victims criminalisation is ineffective

 No  The Criminal Code is too narrowly focused  It does not capture the whole essence of the trafficking process  Further it is not transnational in operation  The exploitation mostly begins at an overseas point  Issues with recruitment \ pre-departure training at source  Australia’s current efforts on anti-trafficking in the region

 Australia could learn a lot from the region and take a leadership role  As distinct from a defensive stance  Issues with bilateral arrangements in the region  The need for a stronger focus on state responsibilities to migrant workers

 And from our neighbours  THANK YOU!