Bill will put sex workers at risk: Prostitutes Collective

A bill that will give the Manukau City Council the power to ban prostitutes from working in certain areas will put them at risk, the New Zealand Prostitutes Collective says.

The Regulation of Prostitution in Specified Places Bill passed its first reading by 82 to 36 votes in a conscience vote in Parliament last night.

If enacted, the bill will allow Manukau City Council to pass bylaws to restrict street prostitution in specified places and give police the power to arrest prostitutes or their clients without a warrant.

Councillor Dick Quax said the bill empowered the community to address the problems caused by prostitution.

"Right now we have no authority over the street prostitution that happens within our community so no matter how much the residents and business owners complain to us about the adverse effects of prostitution, we have no authority to do anything about it."

The bill would encourage prostitutes to take their business indoors where it is safer, he said, but the New Zealand Prostitutes' Collective (NZPC) argued it would do the opposite.

Its Auckland regional manager Annah Pickering said it would force sex workers away from places where they had support and were known in the community.

"We don't support the bill because it would actually not solve any problems when it comes to helping sex workers, it would just relocate them to areas where they are more at risk," she said.

To say the bill would encourage sex workers to take their business inside was not true, she said, because they had nowhere else to go.

It would also mean sex workers could be fined up to $2000 if they breached the law - an unrealistic amount that would inevitably lead to unfair prison sentences for sex workers who could not pay, she said.

The council is taking submissions on the bill before it goes to a select committee hearing.