Australian govt appoints first anti-slavery commissioner

Canberra, Nov 11 (IANS) The Australian government has appointed the country's first anti-slavery commissioner.

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus on Monday announced that Chris Evans, a former senator and human rights official, will serve as the inaugural Australian anti-slavery commissioner on a five-year term commencing in December, Xinhua news agency reported.

Dreyfus said that the new commissioner role would strengthen the work undertaken across government, business and society in Australia to prevent and respond to modern slavery.

"Modern slavery deprives victims of their dignity, fundamental rights and freedoms," he said in a statement.

"It encompasses a range of exploitative practices including human trafficking and slavery-like practices such as forced marriage, forced labor, deceptive recruiting and debt bondage."

Walk Free's 2023 Global Slavery Index estimated that there are 41,000 people living in modern slavery in Australia in 2021.

A report released by the anti-slavery commissioner of the state of New South Wales in September estimated that there were 16,400 people in modern slavery in the state, prompting the state government to launch an inquiry into the modern slavery risks for temporary migrant workers.

The federal government committed 8 million Australian dollars ($5.2 million) in funding over four years for the new national anti-slavery commissioner in the 2023-24 federal budget.

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