The Modern Slavery Hidden in Coercive Groups in New Zealand

This submission was delivered orally to the Modern Slavery Select Committee of the New Zealand Government by Dennis Parker and Dr Caroline Ansley on 6 June 2026 on behalf of the CIPNetwork. Dennis Parker is CEO of Trade Aid Importors and Chair of the Decult Trust. Dennis and Caroline are both Co-Leads of Cult-Informed Professional Network.

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Kia ora koutou. My name is Dennis Parker. I am presenting alongside Dr Caroline Ansley, my co-lead in the Cult Informed Professional Network (CIP Network).

Dennis presenting before the Select Committee

I appear before you today wearing two hats. One is concerning international modern slavery. As CEO of Trade Aid Importers, alongside Daniel Fielding and Brittany Halligan, we made a submission this morning. The second is concerning domestic modern slavery, as Chair of the Decult Trust and Co-Lead of the Cult-Informed Professional Network (CIP Network).

Trade Aid’s submission this morning made the case for stronger supply chain transparency. That work matters, and we support it. But it is not why I am here now. Modern slavery is also happening here in Aotearoa New Zealand.

I am now handing over to Caroline.

Caroline presenting before the Select Committee

Thank you, I’m Dr Caroline Ansley. New Zealand has documented cases of trafficking and labour exploitation within our own borders. The Modern Slavery Bill should not look only outward. Domestic victims also need to be recognised and visible in the data and in the law. Liz Gregory, on behalf of the Cult-Informed Professional Network, has already submitted this morning that the Bill be amended to require assessment and public reporting on the nature and scale of modern slavery occurring within New Zealand itself. That is a measurable, achievable addition. Without it, we are legislating in the dark about our own communities.

And there is a form of modern slavery this Bill does not yet see at all.

Beyond trafficking, there are people in New Zealand living inside closed, high-control environments where coercion operates through psychological pressure, spiritual fear, and social isolation rather than physical restraint. The Employment Court findings in the Courage and Pilgrim cases documented conditions at Gloriavale approaching servitude, including child labour and a degree of control that removed genuine freedom. Police investigations into slavery and servitude allegations there have been running for years and appear stalled.

Gloriavale is the most visible example, but it is not the only one. We estimate there are around 50,000 people in coercive control environments across New Zealand, many of them experiencing conditions that fall squarely within modern slavery frameworks. Here are three other examples:

1. The Two by Twos / The Truth / The Church with No Name – Despite working full-time for the church, potentially for years, church ministers work for no pay, travelling around homes in their communities ministering, with no say in the work they do or where they sleep at night. Should they leave, they depart with nothing. Survivors of this group describe it as highly coercive.

2. Sri Chinmoy Centre workers in their restaurant, the Lotus Heart in Christchurch – survivors of this coercive group have described working for extremely low pay and to having unpaid, mandated “voluntary” shifts required as part of their commitment to the group. People in this group have reported being pressured to quit studies, other employment and isolate themselves from family and friends in order to continue connection with the group.

3. A trial is currently under way in the Auckland High Court examining a small, highly coercive cult-like group called "The Ark" who follow the teachings of Kaixiao Liu. Four people are being tried for kidnapping and the manslaughter of 70 year old Chinese woman Shulai Wang – these four are the cult leader and three of his family. The court is hearing of the slavery like conditions Wang lived in before her death - the servitude she and her fellow followers were subject to, along with being starved, held captive and physically abused.

A corporate reporting regime with a $100 million threshold does not reach these situations. It was not designed to. But that means this Bill, as currently drafted, would have made no meaningful difference to the people our network supports.

And now, back to Dennis.

We are asking this committee for three things.

1. That the Bill explicitly require assessment and public reporting on the nature and scale of modern slavery occurring within New Zealand itself, and that this domestic reporting obligation recognise slavery and servitude can arise through psychological and relational coercion, not only physical force.

2. That specialist oversight be established with the mandate to coordinate across the agencies that currently have no single body responsible for these cases.

3. That meaningful investment be made in survivor support, because the barriers people face leaving coercive environments, financial, educational, psychological, and practical, persist long after they physically leave.

For the people we support, freedom came through trusted relationships, skilled professionals, and long, hard legal battles. This Bill can do better. We urge you to build a framework that reaches people before it gets to that point.