Queensland parliament has passed historic legislation decriminalising sex work in the state, after decades of campaigning.
But advocates are concerned the hard-won reform could be overturned if the Liberal National opposition wins government in October. The party voted against the bill on Thursday evening.
One Nation and Katter’s Australian party MPs also voted against the legislation.
The attorney general, Yvette D’Ath, who sponsored the bill, told parliament that “discrimination and stigma” were common because about 90% of sex workers were forced to operate outside the law.
“[A parliamentary] committee heard that people in the industry suffer from unwanted advances and aggression from clients. Others have described facing discrimination and stigma as a result of their job. These experiences are felt across the sex work industry,” she said.
Prior to the reforms, sex workers were permitted to operate in Queensland either as a sole trader or in a brothel. There were fewer than two-dozen licensed brothers in the entire state.
Scores of sex workers watched on as Labor, Greens and independent members voted to pass the bill.
The sex worker and Respect Inc state coordinator, Lulu Holiday, said it had been “stressful” and at times “traumatic” working under the state’s regulatory system, though she has avoided any criminal punishment.
“However, I do know many people that have been criminalised, have had multiple charges against them, have been threatened with deportation, been absolutely harassed and abused by police under these laws,” she said.
The new law regulates sex work the same way as all other businesses, imposing planning and workplace health and safety and other rules.
The shadow attorney general, Tim Nicholls, said it was unclear how “the world’s oldest profession” would be regulated from a planning perspective, raising concerns it could prove a “nuisance” to neighbours.
“While the intention might be to treat sex work businesses just like any other, the reality is that very many people in the community do not regard it as just another business,” he said.
Nicholls said the government ought to have considered submissions proposing the so-called Nordic model, which prohibits sex work but only punishes the client, not the employee.
The opposition MP Mark Robinson described the Nordic model as “best practice”, telling parliament that “it is only a matter of time that more effective laws will be passed across Australia”.
after newsletter promotion
The Labor MP Chris Whiting said “nowhere else in Australia is going down that path”, and the Australian Christian Lobby had pushed it in the parliamentary committee inquiring into the bill, which he chaired.
The Queensland Council of Unions general secretary, Jacqueline King, said the LNP would “face the united union movement along with the sex work industry” if they choose to campaign to once again criminalise the industry.
“This is about actually ensuring equal health and safety rights, equal industrial rights for sex workers,” she said.
The sex worker and Scarlet Alliance CEO, Mish Pony, said the legislation also established anti-discrimination protections for sex workers.
Almost all sex workers had experienced stigma, affecting their access to health services, accommodation and mental health, Pony said.
“Anti-discrimination protections provide an avenue for redress and sends a message to the community that discrimination against sex workers is not acceptable,” they said.
The Greens MP Amy MacMahon said the reform was long past due; it was recommended in 1989 as part of the Fitzgerald Inquiry into police corruption, she said.