Former senator and human rights leader Chris Evans has been appointed Australia’s first anti-slavery commissioner.
The context: Chris Evans, a Labor senator between 1993 and 2013, will take office in December and shape reforms outlined in a recent review of modern slavery laws.
The commissioner will work with the government to crack down on exploitative practices such as human trafficking, forced labor and forced marriages.
Other practices include deceptive recruitment and debt bondage.
The key quote: “The Anti-Slavery Commissioner will further strengthen the work undertaken by government, business and civil society to prevent and respond to modern slavery by supporting victims and survivors, raising community awareness and helping businesses to address the risk of modern slavery practices in their operations and supply chains. — Mark Dreyfus, Attorney General.
What else to know: After his time in Parliament, Evans worked as chief executive of the Global Freedom Network, an arm of the human rights group Walk Free which fights modern slavery.
Dreyfus said Evans conducted a merit-based selection process to win the position, which resulted in a four-year, $8 million commitment in the 2023-24 budget.
A recent landmark report in New South Wales found .
The state’s anti-slavery commissioner, in practice after identifying risks to temporary migrant workers in rural and regional New South Wales.
