AUSTRALIA APPOINTS 1ST ANTI-SLAVERY COMMISSIONER TO STRENGTHEN EFFORTS AGAINST MODERN SLAVERY

Tue 12 November 2024:

Australia on Monday appointed its first anti-slavery commissioner to strengthen efforts aimed at “preventing and responding to modern slavery.”

Chris Evans, a former senator and anti-human trafficking activist, will begin a five-year term on Dec. 2, said a statement issued by Attorney General Mark Dreyfus’ office.

“Modern slavery deprives victims of their dignity, fundamental rights and freedoms. It encompasses a range of exploitative practices including human trafficking and slavery-like practices such as forced marriage, forced labor, deceptive recruiting and debt bondage,” the statement added.

The anti-slavery commissioner will “further” strengthen the work undertaken across government, business and civil society to prevent and respond to modern slavery by supporting victims and survivors, raising community awareness, and helping business address the risk of modern slavery practices in their operations and supply chains, it added.

Earlier in September, the New South Wales anti-slavery commissioner issued a report saying the state has an estimated 16,400 persons in modern slavery. The state administration promptly requested an investigation into the risks of modern slavery for temporary migrant workers.

In the 2023-24 federal budget, the government promised 8 million Australian dollars (approximately $5.2 million) in funding over four years for the new national anti-slavery commissioner.

The establishment of the anti-slavery commissioner fulfills Prime Minister Anthony Albanese‘s electoral promise to establish an independent commissioner to lead the fight against modern slavery, the statement added.

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History of slavery in Australia

The history of slavery in Australia dates back to the early colonial period and is closely linked to the British settlement of the continent. From the late 18th to early 20th centuries, forced labor practices involving Indigenous Australians and Pacific Islanders, known as “blackbirding,” were widespread.

Blackbirding involved the coercive recruitment of Pacific Islanders, often from places like Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands, to work on sugar plantations in Queensland under exploitative and often brutal conditions. Many were tricked, kidnapped, or manipulated into coming to Australia, only to endure inhumane treatment, minimal or no pay, and harsh working conditions.

Indigenous Australians also faced a form of institutionalized slavery under the guise of “protection policies,” which allowed the government and settlers to control where Aboriginal people lived and worked, often providing only basic rations in exchange for labor.

Aboriginal children were forcibly removed from their families, a practice later referred to as the Stolen Generations, and were often put into institutions or assigned to settler households as domestic workers.

By the early 20th century, changes in public opinion and government policies gradually reduced these practices. The White Australia Policy of 1901 effectively ended the practice of blackbirding, as Pacific Islander workers were deported or encouraged to leave.

However, the legacy of these practices has left deep scars within Indigenous communities and descendants of Pacific Islanders in Australia, impacting generations and continuing to influence discussions on reparations and recognition of historical injustices.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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