Australian Christian lobby accused of misleading voters over SA sex work Bill

A phone survey that found one in two people would punish MPs for voting to decriminalise sex work was misleading, the Bill’s proponent says.

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The Australian Christian Lobby has been accused of peddling misinformation and attempting to manipulate local constituents during its campaign against the proposed decriminalisation of sex work in South Australia.

The organisation conducted a phone survey of 2214 people from 11 marginal electorates across the state and said the results showed one in two constituents were prepared to vote against their sitting MP if they supported a bill to decriminalise prostitution.

It also said more than 55 per cent of respondents believed SA’s laws should encourage less prostitution and 61 per cent thought their local MP should vote against the bill.

However, Greens MLC Tammy Franks — who introduced the bill into parliament in a bid to give sex workers more rights and protections — has slammed the robocall survey, saying she received “many complaints from the general public about this particular push poll’s misinformation and manipulation”.

“That the ACL has done a stinker of a push poll to get the response they want is no surprise,” she said.

“What is a surprise is that they expect the very politicians whose careers can hinge on proper polls to actually believe this codswallop.

Ms Franks said the ACL’s assertions in its poll questions that children would be allowed in brothels during hours of operation; that brothel owners could seek workers at schools and university career nights; and that decriminalising sex work would increase prostitution were incorrect.

“The ACL are of course entitled to their views but they should not be entitled to mislead, misinform and make threats based on fake news of their own making and get away with it,” she said.

Opposition MP Stephen Mullighan, who represents the electorate of Lee, said his office also received complaints about the survey.

“Some felt it was push polling and others that it bordered on intimidatory,” he said.

“I think (the ACL’s) efforts would have been better spent introducing MPs to some of the realities of the industry rather than going to the effort and expense of the robocalls.

“It was also another example of why South Australians are increasingly uncomfortable with robocalls.”

ACL SA director Christopher Brohier said the poll results “should cause MPs to think carefully about the consequences of their vote”.

“This is a radical bill that will see more prostitution in our communities, and it should be rejected by MPs,” he said.

“This poll clearly shows that voters do not want more prostitution in their communities.”

The ACL wants parliament to reject the full decriminalisation of prostitution and instead adopt the Nordic or Human Rights Model of prostitution which decriminalises the selling of sexual services and criminalises the buying of sexual services and third party profiteering, such as pimping and brothels.

Debate on the bill is due to resume in parliament this month before it is expected to be taken to a vote in October.