1 day Ago By Carla Mascarenhas
When Moe Turaga moved from Fiji to Australia, he had no idea he was going to become enslaved. Login or signup to continue reading For two-and-a-half years Mr Turaga, then a teenager, didn't earn more than a couple of dollars a week. His dad died when he was 13 years old leaving his family in a dire financial situation.
"My mum had a very heavy burden," he told ACM. "I wanted to help." With a group of cousins, he accepted an offer to move to Australia and undertake farm work in country Victoria.
Part of the money was to be sent back home to his family. There was one problem. It never was.
He didn't realise what was happening as he had no contact with his family until a fateful walk to church where he spotted a pay phone. The first question his mother asked when they connected was, "Are you ever going to send us any money?". Despair, heartbreak and utter despondency ensued.
They had been duped. I just wanted to punch the s*** out of the phone It was a lady in his church, Audrey, who helped him escape, eventually hiring him on her farm. Years later when he ran into her again he asked why she helped: "It was the right thing to do," she said.
Mr Turaga's story is not unique. A report tabled to the NSW Parliament on September 18 by the NSW Anti-slavery Commissioner Dr James Cockayne shows 16,400 people in modern slavery in NSW. The report particularly focused on temporary migrant workers in agriculture, horticulture and meat processing in rural and regional NSW.
Debt bondage, deceptive recruiting, forced labour and, in extreme cases, sexual servitude and even human trafficking. Policy advisor Sophia Kagan said women were particularly vulnerable. The tabled report says 20 per cent of PALM ( Pacific Australia Labour Mobility ) workers in Australia are female.
This is expected to rise with PALM expanding to aged care and tourism. "Shortcomings in the current schemes have led to an increase in disengaged female PALM workers reporting violence, coercive control, and sexual exploitation," she said. Women also made up more than half of those undertaking working holidays in agriculture.
The report makes five key recommendations including "trauma-informed and worker-centred investigation of modern slavery risks", compulsory training for frontline workers and funding for greater community support for temporary migrant workers. It also calls for a review of the visa settings and protection requirements for temporary migrant workers in PALM program. "Everyone working in, and contributing to, our community deserves fair pay and fair working conditions," Dr Cockayne said.
"While migration programs are, for the most part, well-managed, the information contained in my report tabled in Parliament shows that there are a minority of workers who are at risk. "These workers, who are trapped in exploitative situations, form part of the estimated 16,400 people trapped in modern slavery in NSW." Carla Mascarenhas is the NSW correspondent covering breaking news, state politics and investigations.
She is based in Sydney. Contact her on carla.mascarenhas@austcommunitymedia.
com.au Carla Mascarenhas is the NSW correspondent covering breaking news, state politics and investigations. She is based in Sydney.
Contact her on [email protected].
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