On June 7 2022, Property Council submitted to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment on the proposed legislative response to the issue of Modern Slavery and Worker Exploitation.
Why this matters to our members
Property Council advocates for the creation and retention of a well-designed, functional and sustainable built environment, in order to contribute to the overall prosperity and well-being of New Zealand. The proposed legislative response to the issue of Modern Slavery and Worker Exploitation will have a meaningful impact on the property sector and we believe that is important that the voice of the property sector is heard.
Our view
Property Council supported the intent of the proposed legislation, in addressing the issue of Modern Slavery and Worker Exploitation. We did, however, have some concerns regarding the implementation of the proposed reforms and we provided several recommendations that we believe would improve outcomes.
At a high level, we recommended that:
- Initial legislation be aligned to the Australian Commonwealth Modern Slavery Act;
- Due diligence requirements for international supply chains be implemented in a staged approach, concentrating on domestic supply chains initially; and
- Legislation should clarify that tenants are not required to look into how existing buildings they want to occupy were constructed (i.e., historic supply chains) and that landlords are not required to enquire into their tenant’s practices (i.e., goods / services sold from their buildings).