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Media Releases |
Media Release - Minister's Office Sydney: 18 May 2009 STATEMENT FROM KRISTINA KENEALLY: BROTHELS Illegal and unregulated brothels can present serious risk to the community, including sex workers and their clients. All levels of government, as well as the media, have a role to play in stamping them out. In 1995 the Restricted Premises Act was amended to abolish the common law offence of keeping a brothel. Since then sex premises have been regulated as a land use under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act. Regulating brothels through the planning system relies on effective enforcement measures. Councils must be able to take swift and effective action against brothels – whether they are operating without development consent, or against the conditions of their consent, or where they are adversely impacting on the community. That’s precisely what the Brothels Act 2007 does. Councils can act quickly and directly to: • Issue an order themselves – without going to court – to shut a brothel down. • If the order is ignored, get a court order to shut off the brothel’s utilities. Each of the 152 councils in New South Wales have these powers at their disposal, and they are using them. Parramatta Council today provided information to the NSW Government Brothels Taskforce about actions in their local area in the last six months: • 38 premises inspected / searched • 3 Brothel Closure Orders Issued - 3 premises closed • 5 suspected debt-bondage sex workers identified and assisted • 3 drug affected sex workers removed from premises • $32,000 in fines issued • 2 Section 17 + Section 18 Summary Offences Act prosecutions initiated • Drug dealing networks identified in two licensed premises • No new brothels or massage parlours approved The NSW Government and the Local Government and Shires Association will continue to work together to ensure councils have the powers they need to tackle this issue and the resource implications of this enforcement role. Finally, the media also have a role to play in addressing this matter of community concern. A cursory examination of the classified section of most newspapers shows that very few advertisements for adult services include any evidence that they are legal.
A recommendation from the Independent Commission Against Corruption is that the Government legislate to require sex industry advertisements include a development consent number. Today I will write to all newspaper editors asking them to voluntarily adopt the ICAC’s recommendation. As the Daily Telegraph points out, this is an issue of concern to the community, and not taking advertisements from illegal sex premises is one step newspapers could take to support the community in its desire to put a stop to illegal premises in their suburbs. I will also ask newspaper editors to provide me with their views on whether or not the Government needs to move legislation in this regard, and note that our interagency Brothels Taskforce is considering ICAC’s recommendation right now, with a view to reporting to Government shortly.
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