New Zealand immigration officials admit that women could be working undetected as sex slaves in New Zealand, the Weekend Herald reported on Saturday.
The Cabinet will be asked to set up a taskforce involving seven government departments to stop human trafficking in this country.
The action plan follows criticism in United States intelligence reports, which name New Zealand as a destination for traffickers from Malaysia, China, China's Hong Kong and other Asian countries.
Police and advocates for change believe it is likely the trade exists here and has become harder to detect since the liberalization of prostitution laws in 2003.
Documents obtained under the Official Information Act showed that advisers told Immigration Minister Jonathan Coleman the critical comments about trafficking in New Zealand were "unsubstantiated".
The December 2008 briefing paper said there was no verified evidence to suggest trafficking was happening here, but New Zealand had the potential to be targeted.
"Similarly, there could potentially be cases of people trafficking in New Zealand that remain undetected," the paper said. "People trafficking for sexual and labor exploitation is an evolving global phenomenon and New Zealand remains at risk."
Coleman said there was no verified evidence that New Zealand was a trafficking destination, but conceded that the Government does not "assume immunity" to being targeted now or in the future, the Weekend Herald said.
He said the multi-agency action plan would increase training for enforcement officials to identify potential victims.
Intelligence on trafficking would be more readily shared, DR Coleman said, as well as enhanced risk profiling for potential victims both at the border and in visa applications.
A United Nations report into trafficking criticized any country that had not prosecuted any human trafficking offences.
Source:Xinhua
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