STATUTES AMENDMENT (SEX WORK REFORM) BILL

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading.

(Continued from 31 May 2012.)

Dr McFETRIDGE (Morphett) (10:32): I rise in support of this bill from the member for Ashford. I congratulate her on having the courage to bring this sort of legislation before this place, because it is always controversial and always subject to conscience votes. The support I have had for this legislation has come from many areas in my electorate. I have canvassed my electors broadly and I am delighted to say that it has come from just about every group that you could possibly think of.

Even yesterday, I was speaking to some church leaders from my electorate who surprised me by the level of their support for this piece of legislation. They are not in favour of legalising prostitution in brothels, but they certainly are in favour of what this bill wants to do, and that is to decriminalise the sex industry.

This bill is an opportunity to bring the whole of this industry—and it is the oldest profession in the world, we all know that—into the 21^st century. The economic rationalists in this place—and I am not one—would be quite pleased, I think, to see that this will make the profession come under a lot of legislation so that there will be the paying of taxes. People involved in the industry will actually be contributing to the state through taxes.

Sex workers are severely disadvantaged in the current circumstances. While sex work is not considered work, those engaged in it are stigmatised by current attitudes that they are less likely to seek assistance when they are at risk from unscrupulous clients' behaviour. That is one of the big issues we have had. We have seen supergrass legislation this week, legislation about supergrasses trying to get people to spill the beans on their criminal colleagues.

This measure is about protecting people who, again, are subject to the influence of unscrupulous types in the industry as it stands at the moment, and it should be supported by all those in this house who want to see fairness for people in South Australia. You are not going to eliminate the sex industry. To those who have written and emailed me who want us to stamp this out and eliminate it altogether, I say that it is the oldest profession in the world. If there is a way of achieving that goal, they certainly have not put it to me. I believe that you have to be pragmatic about this, and that is what this legislation is doing.

The bill before us does not allow younger people to enter into the sex industry. The age of consent remains the same. The bill does not seek to promote underage sex industry engagement; that remains and should always remain at 18 years of age. The bill also does not permit those under 18 years of age to procure the services of sex workers.

The New Zealand government reforms recently decriminalised the industry, and the sky did not fall in over there. Wellington has not become Sodom and Gomorrah. The New Zealand report of the Prostitution Law Review Committee on the operation of the Prostitution Reform Act 2003 reports that decriminalisation of the sex industry has not led to an increase in the number of sex workers operating in New Zealand.

This bill will not mean that there will be a sex worker or a brothel on every street in Adelaide; it is not happening. This bill is aimed at allowing those who are involved in this industry to have the protection of the law to which they are quite entitled.

The situation at the moment is that street-based sex workers are severely disadvantaged. They are more likely to be prosecuted than indoor workers. I know that there are still some issues about this legislation and its coverage of street workers. I spoke to the AIDS Council yesterday about some of its concerns. Street-based sex workers are subject to greater levels of violence and, according to international research, they are more likely to experience greater pressure to use unsafe practices than other sex workers.

In some areas, street-based sex workers are the most visible part of the sex industry, sometimes drawing strong reactions from some parts of the community. Unfortunately, if you go to some areas that are well known in Adelaide where there are street-based sex workers, that seems to be the stereotype for the whole of the sex industry. I am assured by those working in the sex industry, and also by those who have other knowledge of it, that it is a far different picture from what people perceive from seeing some of the sex workers on the streets. In some areas, street-based workers are the most visible part of the industry, though, and that is something we have to continue work on here so that they are not forced to be out on the streets putting themselves in danger and engaging in unsafe sex practices.

Any estimate of the size of the sex industry is difficult, as activity in this area may be temporary and sporadic. We do hear stories of students who get involved in the sex industry to help fund their way through tertiary education. I am making no judgement on that at all, but what I do want is that, if that is their choice, they should be given the protection of the law, whether it is industrial law or whether it is the protection of the justice system or it is an obligation to pay their taxes. It is an issue that I am very aware of, and it is an issue that everybody in this place should be very aware of, that it is not just a matter of stopping people engaging in sexual activity; it is much broader than that—and this legislation is aimed at bringing all those issues to the fore so that they can be dealt with in a fair way.

By focusing on industrial issues and by protecting the rights of sex workers, we can ensure that owners and operators of sex work premises, including brothels, comply with the relevant legislation because it is so important. We know that the incidence of HIV now is much greater amongst the heterosexual population than it is amongst the homosexual population. We need to make sure that other sexually transmitted diseases are under control because this industry is going to continue. I keep saying it, but it is the oldest profession; it has been going on for a long time. We need to be realistic. It is okay to have these ideals, but the reality is that this is what we are faced with and we have to be able to come up with a 21^st century solution.

I congratulate the member for Ashford on this piece of legislation and it is something this house should support. I hope members here will be brave enough not to use their own values but to use those of their electorates. Go and talk to your electorates. Conscience votes are not about your own conscience: I am not a delegate—I am a representative of my electorate. I have spoken to them broadly, and there is broad support for this sort of legislation. I remind other members here to have the courage to be the representative of your electorate—get out there and talk to them. Do as I have done, and as other members here have done and go and talk to them. See what the real world is. Most members probably have done that, and I hope you have, and I congratulate you if you have.

Getting back to the bill, it will not allow sex businesses to operate within 200 metres of schools, childcare centres or churches, and this will be further limited to 50 metres in the Adelaide central business district. By moving for the decriminalisation of the sex industry we are removing the need for prostitution-specific regulation imposed by the state. Existing statutes and regulations will cover employment conditions for other industries. Those involved in sex work have the same rights and responsibilities as other workers, for example, paying taxes, as we said.

The other states that have had to deal with this: New South Wales has had a decriminalised sex industry since 1995; Victoria controls its sex industry through a combination of planning processes and licensing systems; Western Australia has a prohibition on all forms of prostitution (however, brothels have for many years, as we all know from anecdotal evidence, operated under de facto policy, particularly in Kalgoorlie). The sex industry was legalised in Queensland in 1999. Sexual services can be provided by sole operators or in licensed brothels.

The Prostitution Act 1992 in the ACT regulates certain aspects of prostitution and provides for licensing of individual sex workers in brothels in certain circumstances. The Northern Territory provides for licensing of escort agency businesses and regulates sex work.

In summary, it is time for South Australia to move away from the criminalisation model that we have been talking about to decriminalising the sex industry in South Australia. A more liberal approach? No, a more pragmatic approach, and therefore everybody in this place should be thinking very carefully about what they do with their vote on this legislation, and I congratulate the member for Ashford.