Page 1564 - Week 05 - Thursday, 18 April 1991
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escort agency owners reside only in the Territory. We recognise throughout the report that brothel and escort agency owners are small business operators. We do not restrict any other small business owner to residing only in the Territory and I do not believe that we should restrict brothel owners or escort agency owners.
I am aware, of course, of the clause in the draft legislation put forward in the Northern Territory where it was proposed that escort agency owners be residents only of the Northern Territory. I think it is fair to say that the Northern Territory and the ACT geographically are poles apart. I also believe that this could pose a constitutional question. However, my concern is not in relation to the Northern Territory but in relation to the ACT.
As I said, Mr Speaker, we are a small Territory surrounded by New South Wales. Constantly we are promoting the ACT as a region and I do not believe that we should be creating a hurdle that may cause problems. I would suggest that people have the right to reside wherever they choose. Mr Speaker, I do support an advisory committee to make recommendations to the Minister. Provided that the licensing body does that, then other recommendations in relation to law reform are appropriate.
In regard to the committee report, there will be some sections that not all members are in total agreement with, and I do not intend to go through these paragraph by paragraph today. Overall it is a report that represents the consensus view of the committee. I, like other members of the committee, am aware that these recommendations before us today represent substantial social change in our society. I also agree that there may well be issues relating to regulation of the prostitution industry in the ACT that we really have not addressed. Perhaps we just have not considered them; perhaps they have not been brought to our attention. We are well aware that that may well be the case.
Mr Speaker, in concluding, there are two other issues I want to address briefly. As Mr Moore stated earlier, to our knowledge there is little or no street prostitution in Canberra; but in any form it must not be tolerated. Any reforms proposed in this report or any references to prostitution include only brothels and escort agencies, and then only those located in industrial areas, as in Mitchell, Hume and Fyshwick. I do not support brothels and escort agencies being located anywhere in residential areas.
MR WOOD (4.09): Mr Speaker, initially I found the proceedings of this committee interesting. I suppose we were looking at aspects of life of which I had only very vague knowledge. We saw aspects that, frankly, I would prefer were not there. I have to say that, while it was interesting, for a time, it was never enjoyable because of
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