Danni
28 Nov 2001, 13:17
As some of you would know - the Qld Government has a department division called the Prostitution Licensing Authority. It is there to regulate, license and legalise certain aspects of the worlds oldest proffession here in QLD.
12 months ago I was relief administrator in this division for a while, before the first license was actually issued. It is a rigorous and expensive excercise to gain a license, and it is also a highly contenscious issue and a dangerous one at that.
For example, the legislation governs the location of the brothel, the number of 'rooms' it can have (both a minimum and maximum), the licensing of both owners and managers, the signage, the accessability, the lighting in and the provision of carparks, the health checks for managers and workers. The application fee for such a premises runs into the $thousands as do the annual fees for the license once approved.
The building the authority is housed in has had to have all the glass in it replaced with 'shatter/blast proof' glass, the mail for the authority is scanned by the bomb squad at police headquaters each day before being delivered to the premises, and the actual office inside the building has a myriad of security measures, including stuff like NO access without being buzzed in by reception, or having a security entrance card issued by the police department, there are 'distress buttons' in every room that automatically diall 000 and other buttons that go straight thru to a special division in police headquaters.
There is now a push by the QLD opposition to reveal the names of owners of these brothels (http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,3334867%255E1702,00.html), which IMO is a big mistake, it could bring unknown dangers to the owners personal safety.
What do you think? Is the legalisation of prostitution a move in the right direction? Should that sort of information be available to the public under the Freedom of Information act?
Can this legalisation help protect the public and the workers at the same time?
12 months ago I was relief administrator in this division for a while, before the first license was actually issued. It is a rigorous and expensive excercise to gain a license, and it is also a highly contenscious issue and a dangerous one at that.
For example, the legislation governs the location of the brothel, the number of 'rooms' it can have (both a minimum and maximum), the licensing of both owners and managers, the signage, the accessability, the lighting in and the provision of carparks, the health checks for managers and workers. The application fee for such a premises runs into the $thousands as do the annual fees for the license once approved.
The building the authority is housed in has had to have all the glass in it replaced with 'shatter/blast proof' glass, the mail for the authority is scanned by the bomb squad at police headquaters each day before being delivered to the premises, and the actual office inside the building has a myriad of security measures, including stuff like NO access without being buzzed in by reception, or having a security entrance card issued by the police department, there are 'distress buttons' in every room that automatically diall 000 and other buttons that go straight thru to a special division in police headquaters.
There is now a push by the QLD opposition to reveal the names of owners of these brothels (http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,3334867%255E1702,00.html), which IMO is a big mistake, it could bring unknown dangers to the owners personal safety.
What do you think? Is the legalisation of prostitution a move in the right direction? Should that sort of information be available to the public under the Freedom of Information act?
Can this legalisation help protect the public and the workers at the same time?