Why this Labor MP is taking a stand against her own party

State Labor MPs are bracing for a tense confrontation with their own government over the failure to pass new anti-slavery laws, taking the highly unusual step of seeking to present a backbench bill to the party’s caucus and force Premier Chris Minns’ hand before the next election.

In a rare act of rebellion, upper house MP Sarah Kaine will take a private members’ bill to caucus when parliament resumes on Tuesday. Modelled on legislation drafted by the state’s anti-slavery commissioner, the bill would introduce a new labour hire licensing scheme and regulator in NSW.

Documents obtained by The Sydney Morning Herald show that late on Monday afternoon, Kaine circulated a draft bill and briefing to her caucus colleagues. The decision was a response to growing frustration within the Labor caucus at the government’s failure to move on the issue.

Kaine said it was “inexcusable” the government had yet to pass labour hire licensing laws, labelling it a moral imperative to “clean up what has become, in some cases, a ruthless supply chain for human labour”.

“It is inexcusable that we have not done more,” she said. “This is a bread and butter issue for the Labor Party. We should be doing it. We should have done it. Let’s get on and do it now.”

Lodging a private members’ bill from within government is unconventional, and has not occurred during this term of government. Usually, ministers present legislation for assent from the caucus.

But there have been growing calls for the Minns government to crack down on rogue labour hire operators from unions and anti-slavery advocates after evidence of significant exploitation of migrant workers in the state.

The brief circulated by Kaine on Monday noted Labor’s most recent state conference in July endorsed an Australian Workers Union motion committing the party to establishing a licensing scheme, as did the party’s 2024 platform.

On Wednesday, Mark Morey, the secretary of Unions NSW and a candidate for Labor at the next election, will appear on a panel in parliament organised by Greens MP Jenny Leong urging the government to introduce a licensing scheme, and a slew of recent expert reports have also highlighted NSW as a laggard on labour hire reforms.

In July, the Labor-aligned think tank the McKell Institute released a report which found that the absence of a licensing scheme in NSW – compared to Victoria and Queensland – had created a “magnetic pull for labour hire operators seeking to exploit seasonal workers for profit”. McKell estimated that 63 businesses operating in NSW have had their labour hire licences cancelled in either Victoria or Queensland.

However, that figure may be higher.