House of Representatives

Second Reading Speech

Mr Ruddock (Berowra - Attorney-General)

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

This bill, the Criminal Code Amendment (Trafficking in Persons Offences) Bill 2005, amends the Criminal Code Act 1995, the Telecommunications (Interception) Act 1979 and the Crimes Act 1914.

On 13 October 2003, the Australian government announced a $20 million package of measures to combat trafficking in persons. Many measures from that package have already been implemented.

An important part of the 2003 package was a thorough legislative review. The review carefully analysed Australia's antitrafficking laws to identify what changes were needed to fully and comprehensively criminalise trafficking in persons. This bill is the result of that review and represents part of the government's demonstrated and continued commitment to the fight against trafficking in persons.

The bill incorporates many of the recommendations of the Senate Legal and Constitutional Legislation Committee and comprehensively criminalises all aspects of trafficking in persons by introducing a number of new and extended trafficking in persons offences.

It creates specific offences where the trafficker transports the victim into or out of Australia by using force, threats or deception.

It also creates new trafficking offences that do not specify a means of trafficking but require the perpetrator to be reckless as to whether the victim will be exploited.

The new trafficking offences carry a penalty of 12 years imprisonment.

An aggravated trafficking offence applies where a victim is also exploited, subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, or endangered.

The aggravated offence carries a tougher penalty of 20 years imprisonment and is comparable to penalties for kidnapping and serious assault.

The new trafficking in children offences are also punishable by a tougher penalty of 25 years imprisonment.

This reflects the particularly repugnant nature of trafficking in children.

The protective regime for child witnesses and complainants in part IAD of the Crimes Act 1914 will apply to proceedings for trafficking offences.

The bill also creates new offences for trafficking in persons activities that occur wholly within Australia.

The domestic trafficking offences will ensure that each and every participant in the 'chain' of exploitation of the victim can be prosecuted for that participation.

The domestic trafficking offence is punishable by 12 years imprisonment, with a higher penalty of 20 years imprisonment for the aggravated offence where the victim is also exploited, subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, or endangered.

The bill also introduces the offence of debt bondage.

This offence prevents traffickers from using unfair debt contracts and other similar arrangements to force victims into providing sexual services or other labour to pay off large debts supposedly incurred by the trafficker in transporting the victim.

Legitimate employment arrangements that are not exploitative or unfair are not captured by this offence.

The debt bondage offence has a penalty of 12 months imprisonment, with an aggravated offence where the victim is under the age of 18 years.

A tougher penalty of two years imprisonment for the child offence reflects the abhorrence of forcing a child into debt bondage.

The bill also extends an existing offence to capture traffickers who induce victims to provide sexual services by deceiving them about the conditions of their employment.

To ensure law enforcement and anticorruption agencies can effectively investigate and prosecute these heinous acts, the bill provides that telecommunications interception warrants are available under the Telecommunications (Interception) Act 1979 for the investigation of the new offences.

People trafficking is a growing form of transnational crime that is receiving increasing attention throughout the world.

Australia has a moral obligation to ensure that it has every possible measure in place to fight the trade in human beings and to investigate and prosecute traffickers.

The bill is a significant step. It ensures that Australia meets its obligations under the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children.

Once this bill is passed, the Australian government will be able to meet its commitment to ratify the protocol.

The offences ensure that all aspects of trafficking in persons are criminalised in Australia-from the use of deception to recruit a trafficking victim, through to the transportation of a victim to or from Australia by the use of threats, force or deception, through to receipt and exploitation of a victim.

The new offences complement Australia's existing package of measures and will ensure that Australia remains a world leader in the fight against trafficking in persons.

I commend the bill to the House and I present what I am told is a revised explanatory memorandum to the bill.