Community groups protest home-based brothel

Community groups are rallying to fight a home-based brothel operation in suburban Hamilton.

Protesters gathered outside the Hamilton High Court today for the start of a two-day civil hearing into a dispute between Toni's brothel and Hamilton City Council over a bylaw restricting its operation at its site in Marama St.

Family First spokesman Bob McCroskie, whose lobby group was spearheading community opposition to home-based brothels, said the protest had the support of a large number of national and local groups.

They included the Citizens and Ratepayers Association, church groups, Somali community representatives, and local politicians.

Brothel owners in Christchurch, North Shore and Auckland were challenging council by-laws restricting brothels from school, home and church/community areas, he said.

Last year, Christchurch sex industry magnate Terry Brown won a landmark High Court ruling which struck out the Christchurch City Council's prostitution bylaw.

Under the Prostitution Reform Act, which legalised prostitution in 2003, councils have the power to decide where brothels are located.

However, in both Christchurch and Auckland, bylaws restricting brothel locations have been found to be invalid.

In March, the Auckland High Court quashed Auckland City Council's brothels bylaw, which listed many restrictions on their location.

Justice Paul Heath found the bylaw was invalid partly because it prohibited sex workers from plying their lawful trade from small owner-operated brothels, most of which would be likely to operate from residential properties.

Hamilton City Council introduced a bylaw in October 2004, which restricted sex workers to non-residential areas and banned them from operating within 100m of schools, marae, childcare centres and churches.

Toni's, which had been in business for 25 years, was given 12 months to move out after the legislation was introduced.

The owner of Toni's brothel, Julie Conley, was reportedly "quietly confident" that she would succeed in overturning the council bylaw.

A representative of Toni's, Sarah Divine, told the Waikato Times that the brothel had a lot of support from clients and some in the neighbourhood.

- NZPA