Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 4 Hansard (6 May) . . Page.. 975 ..

Debate resumed from 10 April 1997, on motion by Mr Humphries:

That this Bill be agreed to in principle.

MR MOORE (11.13): I rise to support this Prostitution (Amendment) Bill. It brings back - - -

Mr Osborne: What? Memories?

MR MOORE: Indeed.

Mr Berry: Tell us about your experiences.

MR SPEAKER: Just address the Bill, Mr Moore.

MR MOORE: It brings back a flood of memories not only of the brothels that I have visited, Mr Speaker, but also of the people I met in an industry that we sought, sensibly, to control. Amongst all the things that occurred in the First Assembly - indeed, that brings back a range of memories as well - one of the very positive things was the agreed position that was taken on how we would deal with the very difficult issue of prostitution. It was not until the Second Assembly that the legislation was passed, in 1992. You may recall, Mr Speaker, that that legislation was passed on a vote of 16 : 1, with only Mr Stevenson voting against it. I have no doubt that Mr Stevenson would still vote against such legislation. I would not be surprised to see him turning up in the One Nation party somewhere in Australia. When I hear Ms Hanson speaking on issues I seem to hear echoes of what Mr Stevenson said in this chamber.

The committee that I chaired, and which Mr Wood was part of - the Select Committee on HIV, Illegal Drugs and Prostitution - sought to find a way to regulate an industry that we thought we were never going to succeed in prohibiting. Prohibition has never been successful anywhere else. We attempted to find a way to ensure that the workers were reasonably well empowered so that they were not subject to the kind of pressure that we believed we had seen applied in big brothels and in places where prostitution had been regulated, such as, for example, Victoria. Mr Speaker, it would seem that that legislation has been particularly successful. There have been very few complaints about the legislation since that time.

The issues that Mr Humphries has raised here are minor anomalies. I think we should deal with them and ensure that a public record is created with regard to the sex industry so that there is less likely to be any criminal infiltration, because that was also an important part of what the committee set out to achieve. Mr Speaker, I think that the methods that Mr Humphries has used to achieve this result are very positive, and that is why I will be supporting this legislation today. The requirement for information to be provided, and annual updating of such information, is very important for the community record. The penalties, as Mr Humphries has explained, apply specifically to the

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .