Attorney-General Vickie Chapman to champion sex work decriminalisation push

THE state’s top lawmaker will introduce a push to decriminalise prostitution in the Lower House.

Attorney-General Vickie Chapman will champion the push to legalise sex work in South Australia in the Lower House. Pictured with Greens MP Tammy Franks, (the Upper House mover of the legislation), and manager of sex industry group SIN, Sharon Jennings.

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THE state’s top lawmaker is leading a push to decriminalise prostitution – describing the current laws as “draconian” and unfair.

Attorney-General Vickie Chapman will move to legalise sex work, should Greens MP Tammy Franks’ legislation get the support of SA’s Upper House.

A defiant Ms Chapman says the safety of sex workers was paramount and that brothels should be allowed to operate without the constant threat of police prosecution.

“They (current laws) only serve to leave the providers of the service unprotected, and the clients,” she said.

“Demonstrably it’s a profession that has existed for thousands of years and we need to bring it into contemporary times.”

The Lower House did not vote on sex work legislation in the last term of State Parliament, despite it passing the Upper House 13 votes to eight.

Ms Franks was unwilling to speculate on the chances of the Bill passing the Upper House, but the likely support of SA Best’s Connie Bonaros means it would pass, unless an MP who previously supported it changes their mind.

Ms Chapman said current laws only left sex workers and clients unprotected.

Ms Bonaros said she supported the Bill “in principle”.

“If we as a contemporary society are genuine about affording people who work in the sex industry the same access to workers’ rights and safety as the rest of us, the industry needs to be decriminalised,” she said.

Ms Chapman said the exact shape of the Bill she would introduce had “yet to be finalised” but said decriminalisation was “important to me”.

“I’ve probably had the most experience in debating this in the Lower House, but nevertheless I would hope that others in all conscience would determine this is time to occur and we need to get on with it,” she said.

Ms Chapman said the conscience vote would be conducted in government time in the Lower House, which Ms Franks heralded as a huge shift from the previous government.

“We’ve got the chief lawmaker of this state now not only supporting sex work decriminalisation but sponsoring a Bill … that’s a seismic shift,” she said.

“Previously we’ve had attorneys-general doing everything they can to white-ant these pieces of law reform. Now we’ve actually got the Attorney-General on our side and going into bat with sex workers.”

Ms Chapman said the departures from Parliament of MPs who objected to the legislation – such as former Speaker Michael Atkinson and Labor ministers Jack Snelling and Tom Kenyon – changed the nature of the debate, but said it was “hard to tell” if it would pass the Parliament.

She said objections to Ms Franks’ legislation about allowing brothels to operate near schools or restricting police powers were “reasonable concerns to raise”.

“The reality is these are all legitimate concerns to raise, and I think, need to be heard,” Ms Chapman said.

Liberal MP Dennis Hood is a staunch opponent of the legislation because of its “lack of restrictions on advertising” and police access.

“The lack of restrictions on billboards, bus stops and advertising on radio and TV in full view of children is particularly troubling,” he said.

The head of sex industry network, SIN, Sharon Jennings, said she hoped Ms Chapman’s action would give the issue a bigger profile and encourage research about the problems sex workers faced.

“We’re hoping people say that if the Attorney-General is putting it up it must be worth listening to – let’s have a look into it,” she said.