In most cities and towns in this country a clash of wills is under way on the subject of legal brothels. Governments faced reality and agreed that since the earliest days of civilization no administration had succeeded in stamping them out. Coming to terms with reality - brothels are legal, provided they meet planning and conduct laws.
In Auburn street, Wollongong an illegal brothel has served it's clientele for the past four years. It is discreet and it's staff of three sex workers provide in-house services and do " outsourcing " on a 24/7 basis.
There have been no problems and other residents are probably unaware of it's presence. Council efforts to close down brothels have faced many problems, but recent legislation has made it easier to establish legal identity - and shut off power and water as a measure of closure. For that reason, many brothels have taken steps to legalise their activities.
And that raises a huge problem. The moment a council takes steps to advertise it's intention to grant legal status to a brothel a host of critics crawl out of the woodwork. In the main, they are people with religious objections - and such objections have no status in the acceptance or rejection of an application - but they make a lot of noise and they hog the media, putting pressure on councillors and council officers who are vilified if they accept what the law allows.
The result is usually delay - sometimes picketing of the site involved - and threats of withholding votes if decisions go against the wishes of some objectors.
The whole concept of democracy is that the will of the majority will prevail. The average person accepts that brothels are a way of life and probably serve as a safety valve in the community.
That same democracy preserves the right of protest against any decisions made by a ruling body. In this case, such provisions contradict each other !
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