New Brothel laws designed to close down the grubby illegal brothel industry in NSW came into force on 1 October 2007. Today’s yarn in the SMH gives a good account of how the new laws will work.

To coincide with the introduction of the new laws I registered a new business name called “Brothel Busters” which contracts to councils and the legal brothel industry. Its aim is to shut down illegal brothels that have stained Sydney’s landscape in the last ten years. So far business has been good with one council and four legal brothels hiring my services. However I have hit a snag. Some councils don’t even know about the new laws despite a circular being sent to all councils by the Department of Planning.

The worst one is Lane Cove Council on Sydney’s leafy north shore. An illegal brothel offering unprotected oral s-x has been operating under the council’s nose for twelve months. This place is a menace to the local community with it being a likely source for the spread of s-xually transmitted diseases.

When I spoke with their Mayor Ian Longbottom, instead of thanking me for bringing the matter to his attention, all I got was a spray saying the council will not be rushed into closing the place down and if people are silly enough to go into an illegal brothel then they deserve whatever health hazard they catch. Not be rushed? Excuse me Mr Mayor but this place has been a health hazard for over a year and I don’t think ratepayers share your laissez-faire attitude.

I told the recalcitrant Mayor that if the place is not shut down within the next week I will expose them in the media and I will refer them to ICAC for investigation. You do have to wonder how a place that advertises so explicitly can get away with trading for twelve months without a yelp from the local government authority. I will not hesitate to refer councils that sit on their hands and won’t act in closing down illegal brothels to ICAC.

The illegal brothel industry does have its supporters in NSW. Just look at this nonsense from lawyer and former media watch host Richard Ackland. The Greens, particularly Sylvia Hale MLC, is a great supporter of Scarlet Alliance. During the parliamentary debate on the new brothel laws Ms Hale had her own cheer squad in the public gallery thanks to members of Scarlet Alliance and other s-x worker organisations.

What people like Ackland and Hale don’t understand is that Scarlet Alliance wants a completely deregulated s-x industry. They want a free-for-all. A return to street workers plying their trade and s-x workers having the freedom to work anywhere they want, including homes in suburbia.

Unfortunately they are out of step with the rest of the community and I don’t think organisations like this should have the ear of anyone in government.