By Michael Morrah
The US state department has labelled New Zealand a source country for underage sex slavery and a destination for forced labour.
In its annual trafficking report, the State Department says laws should be updated and more effort made to prosecute offenders.
Just last weekend 3 News was with police filming underage girls working on the street, but there are plenty of issues according the report.
It says some Maori and Pacific Island girls are victims of gang-controlled trafficking rings.
“I think labelling this for what it is – slavery – has brought it to another dimension,” says US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton.
The report’s findings have appalled New Zealand First leader, Winston Peters.
“It’s a disgrace and it’s a crime and it’s coming from the United States, and it doesn’t reflect well on this country,” he says.
“We’ve got an underage sex Mecca going on according to this report.”
The report states that "New Zealand does not have a comprehensive anti-trafficking law."
But the Government is playing the issue down.
“We line up with countries like Australia, Canada, and the US,” says Immigration Minister Nathan Guy.
“The overall tone of the report I thought was pretty good.”
The abuse and underpayment of crew on Korean fishing vessels was also highlighted in the report. Authorities here have charged officers for fish dumping, but they didn't lay charges over allegations of forced labour.
A University of Auckland researcher who investigated that problem says it's not good enough.
“It is frustrating that the New Zealand Government hasn’t yet instigated any prosecutions,” says Dr Christina Stringer of Stop the Traffic Aotearoa.
The US State Department says 27 million people around the world are victims of modern slavery.
And although the Government here says the current trafficking laws are tough, the US does not agree and will be closely monitoring just how affective those laws are over the coming year.
3 News