Bill to decriminalise sex work in SA defeated in Parliament
The 13th attempt to decriminalise sex work in SA has been voted down in Parliament by five votes.
Law and Order
Don't miss out on the headlines from Law and Order. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Parliament has knocked down the latest push to decriminalise sex work in SA.
A vote that would have allowed debate to continue, and fine detail of the proposal debated, was lost.
Opponents of legalising sex work won the vote 24 to 19.
The 13th attempt at decriminalising sex work in SA since the 1980s, the Bill by Greens MLC Tammy Franks was introduced into the Upper House in May last year and passed in June, 13 votes to six.
Supported by Attorney-General Vickie Chapman and the SA Law Society, the Bill aimed to give sex workers the same human, legal and workplace rights and protections from exploitation and discrimination as other workers.
Sex work was decriminalised in NSW in 1995 and legalised – which means regulated – in Victoria, Queensland, the ACT and NT.
Ms Chapman said she was disappointed the Bill had not passed to committee stage, where she was open to more amendents.
“I feel for those sex workers in our community who will still be treated as second-class citizens, and will still be able to be prosecuted for their work,” she said.
“With the failing of this Bill, sex workers are now still left in a position where their safety is at risk.
“We had an opportunity to remedy this but this practice will continue, without the protections in place which could have been provided. We should not shy away from having these conversations.”
In September, Labor leader Peter Malinauskas said he would vote no on the Bill over fears the proposed legislation would allow organised crime to prosper in the sex industry and allow brothels to open near “schools, kindergartens and places of worship’’.
Later that month Ms Chapman proposed amendments to prevent sex workers operating within 200m of “protected premises” such as those raised by Mr Malinauskas.
SA’s top cop, Police Commissioner Grant Stevens, came out against the Bill in August, saying it needed to give police wider search-and-entry powers before he could support it.
The proposed law was the same as the 2015 Lensink/Key Bill introduced by Liberal MLC Michelle Lensink, which passed the Upper House with a clear majority of 13 votes to eight, but lapsed before reaching a vote in the Lower House when Parliament was prorogued for last year’s state election.
MORE TO COME