Proposal for Australia to ban the import of goods made with forced labour passes the Senate

The Senate has voted to support a bill to ban Australia from importing goods that are made using forced labor.

Independent Senator Rex Patrick said the bill also addresses concerns about reports of widespread use of Uighur forced labor in China.

“We need to send a very clear political signal to Beijing and the numerous international brands that are keen to turn a blind eye to China’s massive exploitation of forced labor,” he said.

Senator Patrick estimated the number of slaves worldwide at 38 to 46 million.

“The use of forced labor within global production chains has become a major humanitarian problem.”

The Senate is determined to end slave labor! However, the government’s refusal to endorse the legislation is utterly ruthless. There is no excuse for not supporting an activity that directly attacks those who seek to benefit from the enslavement of others. #auspol pic.twitter.com/VbCWUjOytY

– Rex Patrick (@Senator_Patrick) August 23, 2021

Senator Patrick said there is indisputable evidence that hundreds of thousands of Uyghurs have been subjected to forced labor in China’s Xinjiang Province.

“The international action against modern slavery is building up,” he said in front of the Senate on Monday.

Human rights groups, Uighur organizations and trade unions had urged the Senate to pass the proposed measures and give the Australian border force additional powers to ensure that the laws can be enforced.

“The industrial extent to which Uyghurs are being held in internment and labor camps calls for immediate action on this matter,” said Ramila Chanisheff, president of Australia’s Uyghur Tangritagh Women’s Association.

“We don’t have a single member who is not personally affected by the grave human rights violations against family and friends in East Turkestan, also known as Xinjiang.

Human Rights Center’s senior lawyer Freya Dinshaw said the Australian import regime should place responsibility on importers.

“Most Australians would be horrified to know that there is nothing to prevent goods made using forced labor in places like Xinjiang from ending up on Australian shelves,” she said.

In July the United States Senate passed law with similar intent.

The Uighur Forced Labor Prevention Act created a “rebuttable presumption” on the assumption that goods made in Xinjiang are made using forced labor and are therefore prohibited under the 1930 Collective Bargaining Act, unless otherwise confirmed by US authorities.

The bipartisan measure shifted the burden of proof to the importers.