As submissions to the Government's modern slavery and worker exploitation proposals close, a former human trafficking investigator says change is critical and needs business, officials, iwi, civil society, and most importantly the media to be working together
Comment: Several years ago in a brothel in Southeast Asia, I bought a five-year-old child. The purchase was recorded on the undercover camera that was hidden inside the New Zealand flag I wore on my jacket. She was Vietnamese, her dark hair tied up in a ponytail, a smiling teddy bear on her shirt. She had been trafficked from her homeland and was now being sold for $30 an hour. She was just one of more than fifty children who were being sold many times a day as part of a very successful and incredibly profitable business.
Last year more than 100 businesses from multiple sectors worked collaboratively in the signing of an open letter to the New Zealand Government. The letter asked for a process of consultation to investigate whether New Zealand should, in keeping with our identity and values, create a legislative response to Modern Slavery. The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) recently released a discussion document outlining a set of proposals designed to invite consultation and feedback. LINK https://www.mbie.govt.nz/have-your-say/modern-slavery/
Submissions on the consultation paper close tonight, June 7, at 5 pm.
MBIE is proposing New Zealand be the first country in the world to respond to Modern Slavery by uniting around those things we are for, rather than just those things we are against.
The MBIE document dares to address the underlying causes of slavery rather than just the symptoms. It not only proposes a significant role for businesses but necessarily invites and includes the participation of all Kiwis. It vulnerably recognises from the outset that the proposed legislation will fail without the willingness of business, government, iwi and civil society to work together. In seeking to address the slavery of millions of people upon whose exploitation we unwittingly build our lifestyles, the proposal calls for nothing short of lasting cultural change and a transformation in mindset.
A change in mindset
For those within the business community, effectively addressing modern slavery stands and falls on our ability to let go of our corporate egos and be transparent about the imperfections in our businesses. This is fundamentally at odds with existing definitions of success and would be considered foolishness by most marketing firms and PR consultants. For a business to voluntarily share the weaknesses in their supply chains requires enormous courage as well as the support and encouragement of all sectors; government, academia, unions, NGOs and perhaps most especially – the media.
The media provide us all with a justified critique of business mismanagement, systemic corruption and disingenuous greenwashing. Sometimes however, the media can itself fall victim to cynicism, moving from a healthy scepticism to a pre-existing belief in and focus on the insincerity in almost everything. And when cynicism becomes the unquestioned default lens through which we see the world, it metastasizes and ultimately blinds. Cynicism from within the New Zealand media is especially damaging as it perpetuates what has sadly become a very entrenched Kiwi characteristic. Some media outlets have already vocalised such cynicism in response to both the intent and the content of the MBIE document.
"For those within the business community, effectively addressing modern slavery stands and falls on our ability to let go of our corporate egos and be transparent about the imperfections in our businesses." Gary Shaw, former trafficking investigator
If modern slavery is to be effectively addressed by changing the cultural narrative and mindset, this must necessarily include the media. Otherwise when a business takes the courageous step of being transparent about the imperfections that exist in their supply chain, they will be vilified and silenced by an outdated attempt to name and shame. Such an approach only furthers the existing and very tired stereotype that all businesses are bad. Even more insidious than this and far more destructive is that such an approach fertilises the very soil that keeps slavery flourishing in the silence and in the shadows.
A crucial media role
The need for dependable, trustworthy and independently verified news is greater than ever. My invitation and encouragement to the media is to also see and report on the good when it cracks through the surface and invites us all to participate in that most subversive of elements: hope. The dragon of modern slavery can be defeated but not by the heroic efforts of any one person, business or government. It will take the collective and collaborative efforts of everyone involved, especially those journalists and media representatives charged with holding, framing and communicating our nation’s stories.
The proposed legislation places the greatest responsibility upon those entities who have the greatest influence to demonstrate by their actions that they do indeed exist to add value to the marketplace and to the wider community of which they are a part. The media is included in this imperative. Such a shift in the way we see the world is not only a necessary prerequisite to address modern slavery, but is critical to the ongoing health and hope of our nation.
Submissions on the proposed legislation can be made here.
