Hornsby Council refuses to shut down Hornsby 142 Brothel following drug raid
A council on Sydney’s upper north shore has rejected calls to shut down a brothel at the centre of an alleged drug syndicate, recently raided by police. Read their reasoning in our exclusive story.
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A Sydney council that fought tooth and nail against several brothels from being allowed to operate in its CBD, spending more than $100,000 in court costs to fight them in court, has rejected calls to see one at the centre of an alleged drug syndicate shut down.
Hornsby Council in Sydney's upper north shore has refused to intervene and shut down a legal brothel that was raided by police last month in a mammoth operation that took six months to investigate and plan.
Hornsby 142, on George St, Hornsby, was raided by specialist strike force police on September 13, following investigations of the operation of a "sophisticated drug ring" operating out of the massage parlour, with police uncovering drugs, cash and paraphernalia and arresting four alleged ringleaders of the operation.
A Hornsby Council spokesman said the allegations surrounding the brothel were part of a police investigation that council "is not privy to its details".
“The premises is a lawful business," the spokesman said. "The alleged finding of illegal drugs on the premises has no bearing on the consent for that business, any more than it would for one of the fast-food franchises.
"That is a criminal matter that will be dealt with by the judicial system.”
The rejection from council comes as the brothel reopened to the public, while the four people charged in relation to the raid are preparing to appear in Hornsby Court later this month.
Former Hornsby Mayor, Nick Berman, who was the leader of the council's 2012 campaign to reject the same brothel from being approved, said staff were hamstrung by a lack of State Government reform during previous legal battles and would be blocked once again if a new fight was started.
"Our initial court battle raised concerns around the location, which was in close proximity to local children's play centres, schools and residential areas," he said. "We took it to court and we lost."
Mr Berman said Hornsby Council went to the extreme lengths of hiring "Brothel Busters" to investigate another massage parlour operating at Edgeworth David Ave, Hornsby.
Brothel Buster director, Chris Seage, said brothels like Hornsby 142 are "an unregulated rabble".
"Hornsby 142 was dirty from the start," he said. "Some 15 years ago a group of legal brothels established the Adult Business Association and hired me, originally as a tax consultant, then as a lobbyist on government reform and investigator.
"As soon as Hornsby 142 opened they started providing services that run against NSW Health and WorkCover guidelines, with evidence that some of the women working there were providing sexual intercourse without a condom."
In November 2015, during Hornsby Council's second battle with a brothel in court, Ku-ring-gai state Liberal MP Alister Hensken chaired a Parliamentary Inquiry into the regulation of brothels.
The inquiry called for NSW Health to review monitoring methods for sexually transmitted infections among sex workers, education briefings for council workers dealing with planning matters as well as the introduction of a licensing system for brothels to assist with proper enforcement of the planning laws, allow for better protection of sex workers from exploitation and danger, assist with fighting organised criminal elements in the industry, and ensure only fit and proper people could control and operate a brothel.