PUBLIC FORUM Saturday 6th April to address street prostitution issues

MEDIA STATEMENT, April 3, 2013

Southern Auckland residents are expected to turn out in large numbers on next Saturday (April 6) to address street prostitution issues.

John McCracken, Chair of the Otara- Papatoetoe Local Board of Auckland will host a public forum at the Papatoetoe Sports Centre from 10am to noon.

Attendees will include NZ First Party leader, Rt. Hon Winston Peters, locally based NZ First MP, Asenati Lole Taylor and long serving Manukau East Labour MP, Ross Robertson.

"This is an opportunity for anybody who has concerns or ideas about solutions to voice them," said Mr McCracken.

He said that while his own views are well known on street prostitution he will Chair the forum and said he will ensure as many people as possible with varying views will get a fair hearing.

"Winston Peters and the entire cucus of NZ First have a different view from our Local Board. They want to see street prostitution banned altogether. This will be an opportunity for local people to hear NZ First's position from the very top," he said.

Ms Lole Taylor has lodged a new Bill in the Parliamentary ballot to make street prostitution illegal, as it was before the prostitution reform act of 2003.

"Ross Robertson has been the sponsor for our older Bill, now owned by Auckland Council which would bring regulations to street prostitution if it was passed. Our Local Board and neighbouring Boards of Manurewa and Mangere-Otahuhu, are all behind this Bill," said Mr McCracken.

He said the core principles of this older Bill would:

• Allow local boards to determine areas where street sex workers cannot work, without being able to apply a blanket ban across the community.

• Permit Police to arrest both workers and customers if they were thought to be negotiating sex services in a banned area.

Mr McCracken said the second principle would be crucial to being able to control where street sex workers operate.

"First it is an industry where violence is not infrequent. So we need trained Police to monitor the industry. Secondly, we believe if we can control where customers go, the prostitutes will follow the customers," he said.

"Customers are more likely to take Police advice to seek sexual services in non-banned areas," said Mr McCracken.

He said many of the street workers are from marginalised backgrounds, lack self esteem and suffer from many social disorders.

"It was a mistake of Parliament to give such people the freest form of commercial activity in the country. And we need Parliament to correct it," he said.

"Without change to the Prostitution Reform Act no local bylaws can be effective."

ENDS

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