THERE is essentially no limit on the number of prostitutes that use the same property for sex work as long as there are only two workers there at one time, Scarlet Alliance state co-ordinator Jade Barker says.
Her comment comes after South Launceston residents complained to the Launceston City Council about sex services offered from a house in their street. The residents reported customers mistakenly knocking on their doors throughout the day and night. It is understood the house has two sex workers stationed there in the day and another two at night.
Tasmanian brothels were shut down and made illegal after a state sex industry reform in but sex workers are still allowed to work with a partner as long as one is not managing the other. Public submissions on a discussion paper, released in January, for a review of Tasmania's sex industry review closed in March.
The paper identified three options for brothels: legalisation, decriminalisation or no change to the current laws. The state government and opposition are waiting for the Justice Department to make a recommendation to Attorney-General Brian Wightman before making a decision. She believed this would lead to better occupational health and safety standards for sex workers as well as other rights afforded to workers in other industries.
Ms Barker said legalisation could impose unnecessary restrictions on sex workers, as in Victoria where brothels were legal but required hard-to-get licences and workers were not legally allowed to work from hotels.
