World Vision New Zealand applauds the historic
cross-party move to fast-track modern slavery legislation
through Parliament.
Today National and Labour
announced that they will invoke a never-before-used
Parliamentary rule (Standing Order 288 or the Rule of 61) to
progress a joint Modern Slavery Bill co-sponsored by
National MP Greg Fleming and Labour MP Camilla
Belich.
Under the “Rule of 61” any Private Member’s
Bill backed by at least two-thirds of backbenchers (61
non-executive members) can automatically progress to first
reading in Parliament and bypass the usual ballot
process.
World Vision’s Head of Advocacy and Justice
Rebekah Armstrong says the bi-partisan decision is
momentous.
“This is the first time the “Rule of 61”
has ever been used in New Zealand and it’s being used for
something that really matters – to help end modern slavery.
It shows what can happen when our leaders put politics aside
and work together to do what’s right.
“After years
of advocacy and widespread public support, politicians from
across the aisles are finally moving to make modern slavery
legislation a reality.
“This move means New Zealand is
at last playing its part to help end modern slavery for more
than 50 million people worldwide [i]
, including 8,000 [ii]
right here in New Zealand,” she says.
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The Modern
Slavery Bill will introduce:
Mandatory
reporting: requiring businesses and other entities
with a consolidated revenue of more than $100 million to
prepare, submit, and publish public annual modern slavery
statements which detail incidents, risks, due diligence,
remediation, complaints, and training across operations and
supply chains.
Greater transparency and
accountability: through an online public register
of modern slavery statements, and annual reports detailing
incidents, risk trends, offences, and civil
penalties.
Enhanced support for
victims: through requirements to guide government
agency support, improve victim identification, and the
services available to trafficking survivors.
Improved national data collection to track
the scale of modern slavery, along with a regular review to
strengthen modern slavery legislation in New
Zealand.
World Vision research shows that the average
New Zealander spends around $77 a week [iii]
on goods that are likely linked to child labour, forced
labour, or human trafficking such as electronics, clothing,
and toys.
“Kiwis don’t want to be complicit in
exploitation. This new law will require companies to take
responsibility and gives New Zealanders confidence that the
goods they are buying are slavery-free,” Armstrong
says.
She says the progress of the bill is a testament
to the ongoing support and willingness to work together of
both Fleming and Belich, as well as the persistent advocacy
of Non-Government Organisations.
She says the New
Zealand business community, local and international
investors, and the broader New Zealand public have also
continually called for modern slavery laws and will welcome
this latest move.
“Investors and businesses accounting
for more than $215 billion in funds have also joined calls
for the introduction of modern slavery legislation, while a
poll in 2023 found that 80% of New Zealanders wanted such
legislation.
“It’s reassuring to see that the issue
of modern slavery isn’t going to stagnate for another
election cycle and that Parliament will work to address an
issue of such immense importance,” Armstrong
says.
World Vision is keen to see the first reading of
the new bill in Parliament early in the new year and is
hopeful the new legislation will be in place before this
year’s election.
NOTES:
A timeline of advocacy
for a Modern Slavery Act:
- March 2021: 100
businesses sign an open letter calling for modern slavery
legislation. - June 2021: World Vision and Trade Aid
delivered a 37,000-strong petition to the
Government. - July 2021: The Labour Government
establishes the Modern Slavery Leadership Advisory Group
(MSLAG) to support and inform the development of an
effective regulatory regime in New Zealand. - April
2022: The Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment
solicits public submissions on a proposal for modern slavery
legislation. More than 5,000 submissions were made with 90%
in support. - September 2022: The Labour Government
releases the feedback which showed widespread support from
New Zealand businesses and individuals to introduce law to
address modern slavery. - June 2022: When interviewed
as leader of the opposition, Christopher Luxon says that an
issue he would march in the streets for is modern slavery
legislation. - March 2023: An independent poll finds
that 81% of New Zealanders support legislation to verify the
absence of modern slavery in supply chains. - July
2023: The Labour Government announces that modern slavery
legislation will be drafted requiring businesses to publicly
report on modern slavery risks. - May 2024: The
National Coalition Government disestablished the Modern
Slavery Leadership Advisory Group (MSLAG). - April
2024: When questioned about modern slavery legislation,
Minister van Velden and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon
said this was not a current priority for the
Government. - June 2024: Camilla Belich, Labour
spokesperson for Workplace Relations and Safety questioned
Minister van Velden on modern slavery at Parliament question
time. Minister van Velden reiterated that modern slavery
legislation is currently not a priority for the
Government. - December 2024: World Vision NZ’s
Rebekah Armstrong, barrister Jacob Parry, and ANZ’s ESG
Lead Rebecca Kingi co-drafted the Modern Slavery and
Trafficking Expert Practitioners (MSTEP) Modern Slavery
Bill. - December 2024: The Labour Party issued a media
release expressing its support for modern slavery
legislation and calling on National to back it as
well. - April 2025: National MP Greg Fleming lodged
the Modern Slavery Reporting Bill as a Private Member’s
Bill, focused on business reporting obligations. This
complemented his Increasing Penalties for Slavery Offences
Bill, currently before Select Committee. - June 2025,
Labour MP Camilla Belich lodged a Modern Slavery Bill. This
bill introduces similar business reporting requirements but
is more comprehensive including updates to the Crimes Act
stronger provisions for victim protection and support and
the establishment of an Anti-Slavery
Commissioner. - August 2025: The Minister of Justice
announced plans to amend the Crimes Act to strengthen laws
against trafficking, including many provisions recommended
in the MSTEP Bill. World Vision launched its campaign urging
politicians to work together utilising the rule of
61. - September 2025: 28 signatories, representing
institutional investors and New Zealand businesses
accounting for more than NZD 215 billion, released an open
letter calling for urgent action on modern slavery
legislation. - September 2025: The Government
introduced the Adoption Amendment Bill to prevent
trafficking and unsafe adoptions, signalling willingness to
strengthen New Zealand’s response to modern slavery and
trafficking. - December 2025- both member bills were
removed from the ballot. - January 2026 joint modern
slavery bill introduced.
[i]
https://www.walkfree.org/global-slavery-index/map/
[ii]
https://cdn.walkfree.org/content/uploads/2023/11/14130727/gsi-country-study-new-zealand.pdf
[iii]
https://wvnzintegrationprod.blob.core.windows.net/pdf/WVNZ%20Risky%20Goods%202023%20Report-Final.pdf
