Page 5032 - Week 16 - Wednesday, 27 November 1991
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If this legislation is passed, it will protect young people from being exploited and induced into prostitution. It also makes it an offence for anyone to receive money resulting from prostitution of a child. It protects prostitutes from violence and intimidation by making it an offence to force anyone into prostitution. If you want to be a prostitute, you must do it of your own free will. It restricts and regulates advertisements for prostitution in both printed and electronic media, thus protecting our young people. It also puts in place the offence of soliciting, loitering and accosting a person for procuring commercial sexual service. At present the ACT has a low level of street prostitution. This legislation will ensure that that activity remains illegal.
One of the most important aspects of this Bill is the safety and protection of workers and clients and the issue of HIV and AIDS. Generally, you will find that those working in the sex industry are more health conscious than the general public, and this legislation ensures that precautions must be taken. Prophylactics must be used. The legislation makes it an offence for a client to demand sex without protection - a situation which could put the worker in an unsafe position. Also, a licensee shall not permit a prostitute who is infected with sexually transmitted diseases to provide a commercial sex service at a licensed premises. This will protect the client.
I agree with the setting up of a board, as this allows the appropriate Minister - and I presume that it would be the Minister for Health - to step back and not be labelled the Minister for Prostitution. It also takes the issue out of the political arena to a large extent. The membership of the board needs to be considered carefully. Certainly, I agree that at least one member should be a woman. Personally, I would prefer at least two members to be women.
In concluding I would like it to be noted that I will not be supporting Mrs Nolan's proposed amendment to the title, as I think the present title is appropriate. I notice that she has distributed other amendments, too, and that Mr Moore also proposes some amendments. I will be looking at those in more detail.
MR CONNOLLY (Attorney-General, Minister for Housing and Community Services and Minister for Urban Services) (10.54): Mr Speaker, the Labor Government's position in relation to the Prostitution Bill remains essentially that which was stated by Mr Berry a couple of days ago. While we commend the work of the committee that was looking at HIV, illegal drugs and prostitution and while we acknowledge the importance of the impartial and rational approach that that committee took to this often emotive and prejudice-ridden debate on the legalisation of prostitution, we are not in a position at the moment to support this Bill, because we think that the
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