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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 4 Hansard (29 March) . . Page.. 1005 ..
MR RUGENDYKE (continuing):
appropriate area for this type of establishment. You cannot have any more explicit adult entertainment than this and the place for this, as set by the Assembly policy, is in the industrial areas.
But, Mr Speaker, it is not just the peep show. A recurring message I have received from people I speak to is that Northbourne Avenue is not the appropriate place for a sex shop. It is not consistent with the rest of the adult industry being located in designated zones.
Mr Speaker, the second prong of this Bill is to prohibit the sale of restricted material from a premises of which a major use is the sale of such material, except when it is located in the industrial suburbs. In other words, if you have a sex shop, the only place you should be able to operate it is Fyshwick, Mitchell or Hume. Mr Speaker, this is not about closing an operation down. It is about moving the business to a location that is consistent with policy and keeping it out of residential areas in the city and out of the ACT's main tourist thoroughfare.
It is a blight on our city that we have an adult shop in the heart of town. Their track record is offensive - shopfront displays that include female mannequins in stocks and other unflattering positions. This degrades women and is offensive to both men and women. These are not the types of images with which we want to greet visitors to our tourist precinct, nor are they the types of images we want to promote as acceptable for display to our children and our community on a daily basis.
Mr Speaker, there is another interesting factor in the location of this business. When you look at the transformation of the Melbourne Building over the last couple of years, you see that it now has an array of eateries and bars and has become a popular focal point. However, as I certainly did not know and maybe others did not know, upstairs there are also serviced apartments. So we now have the situation of a sex shop and a peep show being located in a residential area, which is clearly inappropriate.
It is interesting to note that one of the supporting letters I have received - from a person who has requested that his views remain confidential - is from someone in a part of the sex industry. Mr Speaker, might I also mention that Cataldo's Salon on Northbourne Avenue called this morning and also sent me this fax, which they would like me to share with members today. I will quote some of it:
We are a family business located 6 doors down from Club X. We fully support your stand on the removal of this offensive business. The majority of our clients will also be prepared to support your action with respect to this. They feel unsafe and degraded by Club X's window displays.
It goes on, Mr Speaker:
We also happen to be crown lessees of Blocks 7 and 8, Section 1 (our premises) and this business has a negative impact on other users, such as the offices, as they feel it is seedy.
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