INTHEBLACK July/August 2023 - Magazine - Page 28
F E AT U R E
TOP AT-RISK GLOBAL IMPORTS, BY PRODUCT
Product
total import value
(BILLIONS $US)
(BILLIONS $a)
243.6
147.9
19.7
14.8
12.7
7.4
6.3
5.2
4.4
2.5
1.6
1.0
0.8
0.4
363.4
220.6
29.4
22.1
18.9
11.0
9.4
7.8
6.6
3.7
2.4
1.5
1.2
0.6
Electronics
Garments
Palm oil
Solar panels
Textiles
Timber
Fish
Gold
Cattle
Sugarcane
Coffee
Cocoa
Rice
Coal
Source: Global Slavery Index 2023
“Australia is an active participant in international trade.
We can’t afford to lose competitive advantage because
we are not doing the groundwork now, or because other
jurisdictions are moving at a faster pace than we are.”
PATRICK VILJOEN CPA, CPA AUSTRALIA
APPLYING INVESTOR PRESSURE
In addition to practical tools for business and
strengthening the Act, Davidson argues that
investors have a significant opportunity to
influence and encourage improvements across
a wide range of companies and sectors.
Due to Australia’s reliance on imported
goods, businesses are particularly at risk
of exposure to modern slavery practices,
she says. This creates risks for investors
and can affect the commercial success,
stability and longevity of the companies
in which superannuation funds invest.
Davidson emphasises that investors have
a responsibility to understand the modern
slavery risks across their portfolios.
“They need to engage with investee
companies to ensure they are undertaking
effective due diligence, mitigating
28 INTHEBLACK July/August 2023
modern slavery risks across their
supply chains and responding to any
material risks or occurrences of modern
slavery that arise,” Davidson says.
In a submission to the current review, ACSI
has called for harmonisation of the Act with
international jurisdictions, while ensuring that
this does not weaken the standards in the Act.
Victims of modern slavery also need an
avenue for redress, Davidson adds.
A GLOBAL EFFORT
Australia’s efforts to address modern slavery
are part of a global conversation.
According to Sinclair, “There is a really
important global trajectory under way.
Jurisdictions around the world are introducing
human rights due diligence processes, laws
and regulations, including in Germany, the
Netherlands and New Zealand.”
Other countries are planning to ban the
importation of goods believed to have been
created using forced labour, Sinclair says.
The European Union (EU) has announced
plans to ban all goods produced via forced
labour. The proposal includes the removal of
all products made with forced labour from the
markets of the 27-nation bloc, including those
made in the EU for domestic consumption,
exports and imported goods.
“It is a significant step in increasing the
sustainability of supply chains and sets a new
standard that other nations may soon follow,”
says Sinclair.
Viljoen says that, for Australian businesses,
the risks of modern slavery are apparent.
“It will cause issues in the long run for us if
we can’t give evidence that our supply chains
are clean,” says Viljoen. “Australia is an active
participant in international trade. We can’t
afford to lose competitive advantage because
we are not doing the groundwork now, or
because other jurisdictions are moving at
a faster pace than we are.”
The challenge is in educating businesses
to take a different approach – one that is
not wholly cost based, Viljoen says.
“How do we shift the approach from cost
to a more holistic view where it is about
safeguarding human lives? If you’ve got
workers in a shared service centre based in
another jurisdiction, you can’t just say that
falls outside of Australia, therefore I don’t
need to look at that. Out of sight should
not mean out of mind,” Viljoen says.
“Can you, in all good conscience, say that
you are safeguarding costs in Australia, but
at the expense of a human being in another
jurisdiction?”