I thank the Committee and the Secretariat for the work they have done in relation to this important inquiry.
I also thank the many people and organisations that made submissions, especially members of the Australian Uyghur community who face harassment from Chinese Government officials and agents here in Australia and grave threats to family members, relatives and friends in Xinjiang.
I am very pleased that my Bill has provided the catalyst for this inquiry and the important recommendations adopted by the Committee.
I fully support the recommendations, including the wider approach to the prohibition of any goods made wholly or in part with forced labour, and I make one additional comment.
This is not a matter that can be delayed. The Chinese Communist Party’s oppression of the Uyghur people is an immediate and continuing affront to human decency. It requires an immediate response, not a protracted process of government review that may lead to legislative and administrative action in two or three years time.
The need for prompt action is made clear by reports that the Victorian Government has turned a blind eye to the use of forced Uyghur labour by the Chinese state-owned company KTK Group, which supplies components for the construction of Victoria’s metro railway system.
The supply of goods produced in whole or part with what amounts to slave labour is an immediate problem of the utmost gravity and must be addressed without delay.
In this context the Committee should have recommended a clear timeframe for action by the Government; otherwise it is all too likely that the Government’s response to this report and recommended legislative and administrative measures will not be implemented during this current Parliament.
Any such delay would be unconscionable.
Recommendation
That the Government introduce and deal with legislation to implement Recommendation 1 before the 46th Parliament is dissolved; and
Recommendation
Report to the Parliament on its implementation of all other recommendations no later than 31 December 2021.