Manukau City Council (Regulation of Prostitution in Specified Places) Bill — First Reading 
Manukau City Council (Regulation of Prostitution in Specified Places) Bill — First Reading 
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Manukau City Council (Regulation of Prostitution in Specified Places) Bill 
First Reading 
Hon GEORGE HAWKINS (Labour—Manurewa) 
: 
 I move  
That the Manukau City Council (Regulation of Prostitution in Specified Places) Bill be now read a first time. 
 At the appropriate time I intend to move that the bill be considered by the Local Government and Environment Committee. Before I delve into this bill I want to pass on to the people of Canterbury the sympathy that I think everyone here has for what happened to those people. When one has been the Minister of Civil Defence one knows the problems going on and I say to John Carter that many people appreciate the work he is doing. 
This bill is on behalf of the Manukau City Council. It will allow the council to make by-laws designating any place a specified place; it requires a by-law to be made and reviewed in a manner similar to that of a by-law made under the Local Government Act 2002; it prohibits the conduct of the business of prostitution or the supply or receipt of any commercial sexual service in a specified place; and it provides the police with powers to arrest a person committing an offence under this legislation. 
This whole question goes way back to the Prostitution Reform Act 2003 which was passed by one solitary vote. Since then Manukau City Council has been back to this House trying to get legislation to help it overcome a difficulty it has. In my electorate of Manurewa and in Ross Robertson’s electorate of Manukau East we have been plagued by street prostitution for a number of years. Of course it has a huge impact on the community. When shopkeepers have to clean up used condoms vomit and urine in their shopfronts people get very upset. When kids on their way to school see that they are annoyed. The Prostitution Reform Act 2003 did not solve the problem. In most areas people work in brothels but we have a certain class of people who I think make life bad for others. This bill is supported by the two chief mayoral contestants for the super-city. They are Len Brown and of course John Banks. Here they are soliciting themselves on the front cover of  
Metro 
 magazine. They are soliciting for votes which is far different from anything else. 
Paul Quinn 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. It is well known in this House that using visual aids is acceptable only by the member speaking and no one else. Former Assistant Speaker Ross Robertson was joining in by holding up that display which I think Mr Assistant Speaker saw. 
H V Ross Robertson 
: I know that the member is a new member— 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Eric Roy) 
: That is not helpful. 
H V Ross Robertson 
: —but the reality is—and I am trying to inform the member—that during the course of a speech a member is entitled to use a display. That was what was happening and it was only for a very short time. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Eric Roy) 
: The point has been made. We know the rules. 
Hon GEORGE HAWKINS 
: I thank the member opposite for his real concern. Soliciting is something that I think he does around election time but he will not do it very successfully next time; in fact he might be further down National’s list. 
When Manukau City Council developed its first bill it thought some real progress would be made and to be sure the first reading attracted about 100 votes in this House. Then it went off to the select committee. It came back from the select committee and the committee was divided on the matter but in the end it decided not to proceed with the bill so the council had the added problem of trying to find a way around the issue. It has used all the options we would expect a council to use. It has used better street lighting closed-circuit television Maori wardens and ambassadors and of course the police have been directed to look at the problem. But prostitution is just one of many social problems that are impacting on South Auckland. I have another bill on the Order Paper the Sale of Liquor (Objections to Applications) Amendment Bill which is waiting for its second reading and deals with another aspect of the social deprivation that is happening. There is also the issue of pokie machines but the issue that really annoys most people is the street prostitution that goes on. Yes we have a lot of people who are very upset that there is a mix of alcohol abuse and street prostitution going on at the same time. 
Last time I said it was a plea from Manukau City Council for help. This bill is also a plea for help from Manukau City Council. This bill may have the unusual feature of lasting longer than the council. Manukau City Council will not exist on 1 November and hopefully this bill will be picked up by the new super-city. That remains to be seen. Some people such as Councillor Dick Quax have been pushing to have this matter dealt with for a long time but there are some councillors who identify the problem and make a lot of noise about it but nothing happens. I am referring to Colleen Brown who has written an article in a newspaper about a young girl—let us call her “Holly”—who stands in the half-light of a liquor store. She goes on to describe “Holly” as a 14-year-old on the streets. I challenge every member of this House to get up and say whether a 14-year-old on the streets is acceptable. The trouble with the article of course is that it is made up by Colleen Brown who does not do anything other than make up stories. 
H V Ross Robertson 
: She wrings her hands. 
Hon GEORGE HAWKINS 
: Yes she wrings her hands and this is a problem that needs far more support than that. It needs the support of this Parliament so that Manukau can get something done. 
When people talk about liquor being an associate of prostitution people really know what is meant. We have people marching around South Auckland protesting about liquor but the chair of the Wiri Licensing Trust goes on those marches. She is selling booze and protesting about the sale. So in South Auckland there is real conflict and people are getting confused messages. I say that this issue needs a forceful answer. It needs people to stand up and be accountable. It does not need people who make up stories or people who try to sell booze but say they are against it and against prostitution. We need people of much sterner stuff. 
It is unfortunate that this bill has come into the House at this late stage but it takes a lot of time and a lot of work by a council to bring a local bill before the House. I thank the officers of the Manukau City Council for their efforts. I thank the people of Manukau City who have contacted me about this bill. 
H V Ross Robertson 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I am really sorry to interrupt my colleague but the reality is that a member in this House is using the Chamber as an office. The member knows who I am talking about. He was using a telephone which is against the Speakers’ rulings. I know that is true because I made the ruling myself. The member knows who it is. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I thank the member for that. Members know that they cannot make calls in here. They must go out to the lobbies to do that. 
Hon GEORGE HAWKINS 
: What happens is that people look to this Parliament to see whether it will make a difference and whether it will give power to a local authority to do something about a problem. Of course that is what is really important: saying to councils that we will support them in their battle against street prostitution. We are not asking to turn the clock back to the days prior to 2003 when the prostitution reform legislation was before the House but we are saying that it is time for change and people have had enough. 
Dr PAUL HUTCHISON (National—Hunua) 
: 
 Thank you for the opportunity to speak on the Manukau City Council (Regulation of Prostitution in Specified Places) Bill. I congratulate the Hon George Hawkins on sponsoring the bill on behalf of the Manukau City Council. I believe the council requested he do so and as a good local member and an aspirant member of the new local council he has done so. We wish him well in the forthcoming elections. The aim of this bill is to stop prostitution in specified places throughout Manukau City. I note that the 2008 review of the Prostitution Reform Act 2003 concluded that most territorial authorities had no problems with the sex industry in their districts and had received few complaints about it. 
However that is not so in Manukau City and in Christchurch and we have heard some fairly explicit descriptions of what goes on in Manukau City and around that area. There is no doubt that it is pretty awful. The council tried to have a bill introduced in 2005 to bring attention to the problem and to impose a complete ban on street prostitution in Manukau but it was defeated. Following efforts by councillors to make suggestions this bill is the result. I think the Hon George Hawkins agrees that it is far from perfect but indeed I support this bill. I think the situation is very serious and it is worthy of referral to the Local Government and Environment Committee for detailed discussion to see whether something useful can come from it. 
A variety of difficulties with this bill have been pointed out. The first one is that once we ban street prostitution from one area like Hunters Corner the prostitutes will go elsewhere and we could keep passing by-laws until the area is more or less covered. Another thing is that the police are concerned that prostitutes will become wary of the extra policing lighting and all the rest and the police may have to bring in undercover agents. Through this bill the police have the power to arrest on suspicion and to impose fines up to a value of $2000. But clearly this could be a merry-go-round. I note that the Prostitutes Collective is against this bill because its view is it is very important that if prostitutes are to carry out their profession in the streets they should not have to move to less safe places that are dimly lit where all sorts of problems can occur. 
It is worthwhile pointing out the aims of the original Prostitution Reform Act of 2003. They were to decriminalise prostitution although not endorsing or normally sanctioning prostitution or its use; to create a framework to safeguard the human rights of sex workers and to protect them from exploitation; to promote the welfare and occupational health and safety of sex workers; to contribute to public health; and to prohibit the use in prostitution of persons under the age of 18. I think most of those aims were very very important and the review suggested that most of those aims were being fulfilled. There is no doubt that safe sex and diminishing the problems of infectious disease and sexually transmitted disease was one issue that was very important to improve in New Zealand at that time. In this issue of prostitution in Manukau City there is what has been described as a variety of unsavoury debris—needles used condoms vomit and urine—found close to schools and places of work which has to be cleared up day after day. 
There are also under-age sex workers. I was very concerned when I heard the Hon Maurice Williamson point out that when he went around these areas with some of the councillors and expressed his concern about young women who were clearly under age being with the older prostitutes one of them came up to him and said: “Look you’ve got to realise that these young women are here they are under our protection they are being fed and they are given money. If they were at home they would be beaten up they would be raped by their parents and their life would be made even worse.” I think this describes the huge difficulty of this whole problem. Certainly during the debate on the 2003 bill under-age sex—prostitutes going from legalised situations to illegal ones—was one of the big difficulties predicted at that time. Here in Manukau City we have the problem of it happening overtly night after night. 
This bill will give only a limited amount of assistance to what is occurring very explicitly. It does not solve the wider problem of illegal prostitution and particularly under-age prostitution. They need to be addressed in a systematic and very careful manner as outlined in the review of the 2003 Act. Nevertheless this bill has arisen because of a repeated problem in a specific part of New Zealand. I agree it is worthy of being supported to the select committee and I congratulate once again the Hon George Hawkins on his sponsorship of this bill. Thank you. 
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER 
: The remaining calls will be of 5 minutes’ duration. There will be a bell at 4 minutes. 
SU’A WILLIAM SIO (Labour—Mangere) 
: 
 It is my pleasure to rise to support the Manukau City Council (Regulation of Prostitution in Specified Places) Bill in respect of street prostitution. I think it is important for members of this House to note that this bill is not about eliminating prostitution. There is no effort whatsoever being made to repeal the Prostitution Reform Act. This bill is about addressing a problem that the people of the Manukau City Council acknowledge has existed for some time in their midst. It is a problem that has caused quite a lot of pain within some sectors of that community. No doubt my colleague to my right Ross Robertson and my colleague to my left George Hawkins who represent those communities will have more to say on this issue. 
I think it is important to say that we are not about trying to eliminate prostitution and I do not think that will ever be possible. For as long as there is violence in the home women are beaten up and women and children are sexually abused there will be people who feel inclined that this is perhaps a way for them to earn a living and a way for them to pay back the people whom they might be angry with. As long as there are men out there with money who are willing to buy this kind of service then we will always have that sad situation in our community. 
I say also that this bill is not driven by any moral outrage despite the fact that in the early days of the Prostitution Reform Act the Manukau community felt as though it had every right to say no to what was being proposed then. It is important that members note that this bill focuses specifically on street prostitution. 
I understand that the members of the Manukau City Council are united in sending a very strong signal to this House that it is a problem and that they simply want this bill to be referred to a select committee so that we can listen to the evidence that is available from the public particularly the public of Manukau and so that we can also get some advice in terms of how we deal with this particular problem. The problem is that the Prostitution Reform Act does not protect the women who are offering their services on the streets. Despite the work of the council in advocating for social services and protection from other agencies and its work in ensuring that these areas are lit have closed-circuit television and are monitored by security the fact remains that it is not only unsafe for those practising their services on the street but also unsafe for members of the local community when they have to deal with the nuisance factor that arises from street prostitution. 
I will not say anything further except to say that this bill is a major improvement on the previous bill that was forwarded by the Manukau City Council in 2005. It is the view of the council which I support that the Prostitution Reform Act has failed to protect street workers or to move them to safer settings indoors. As I said this bill will not provide the sole answer. It is a tool as we explore how to try to deal with the unsafe situation of young people mainly who feel that they have to offer their services on the street. We need to provide a balance so that their rights as prostitutes are protected and the rights of the community are maintained. 
KANWALJIT SINGH BAKSHI (National) 
: 
 It is my pleasure to stand and speak on the Manukau City Council (Regulation of Prostitution in Specified Places) Bill which was introduced by the Hon George Hawkins. The bill aims to address behaviour associated with street prostitution in certain areas of Manukau City. Prostitution is one of the oldest professions in the world and I respect those who are in that profession. They take on that profession because of their circumstances not by choice. We say slavery has vanished from modern civilisation but that is not true. Still it exists. It applies only to women and it is known as prostitution. 
My out-of-Parliament office is in Papatoetoe at Hunters Corner and several people have come to my office to complain about street prostitution. Street prostitution at Hunters Corner is a major issue for the residents and business owners in Papatoetoe. Businesses complain that they have found used condoms in their car parks and doorways and that human waste has been left against the walls of their businesses. Schoolchildren from Papatoetoe Central School Papatoetoe High School and Papatoetoe Intermediate School walk past those areas on their way to and from school. 
Papatoetoe is a community of good people and it is a pleasant place to live yet it is dramatically dragged down by a very small minority. During the day Hunters Corner looks like a corner on any shopping strip: a steady stream of traffic passes a pick ‘n’ mix of offices takeaways and grocery shops. But as night falls Hunters Corner is hunted by the predators of sex. 
The proposed law will make Papatoetoe and Manukau a safer area to live and work in. We need to protect our community and our youngsters. When the Prostitution Reform Act 2003 was enacted I doubted that anyone would have thought that street prostitution at Hunters Corner would increase so drastically. Even though this bill does not address all the issues I support the bill at its first reading. 
TE URUROA FLAVELL (Maori Party—Waiariki) 
: 
 Kia ora Mr Deputy Speaker. Kia ora tatou katoa. I take just a brief call on the Manukau City Council (Regulation of Prostitution in Specified Places) Bill to state where the Maori Party sits. We are aligned as a party in respect of our stand on this issue. 
We recognise that Maori might take up some roles here and there—just like any other New Zealander—in the wider sex industry. Some will be street-based workers; the research tells us that Maori are more likely to be represented here than in managed or private businesses. Maori may be managers or owners and Maori may access commercial sexual services. But a wider group of whanau is also affected either by their family member’s involvement in the sex industry or simply as members of communities in which the business of prostitution or commercial services plays out. 
Prominent in our thinking around any legislation to do with the sex industry is the matter of health and public safety not just of the workers but of the greater community as a whole. The literature tells us that people enter the industry primarily for economic reasons. Most sex workers are female and female workers most often cited the need to pay for household expenses as well as to support their families. Ironically it is the working conditions—the flexible working hours and the ability to earn money readily at rates often exceeding the minimum hourly wage—that attract many of the participants. 
Some research provided to the Prostitution Law Review Committee also provided some interesting ideas around how to encourage workers to exit the industry. Transgender sex workers spoke of the lack of acceptance in society and the feeling of belonging that they got from working with people who were more similar to them. Young sex workers also spoke of the feeling of acceptance and the family-like atmosphere they got from working on the streets. So some bigger issues around the existence of the sex industry need to be tackled before one simply imposes a ban that prohibits the business as with this particular bill. 
All of that background being in place when the Ministry of Justice reported back on 1 May 2009 about the impact of the prostitution law reform it concluded: “localised approaches are likely to be more effective than legislation” for dealing with the issue. It recommended that the council the police residents business owners and sex workers work together to address the community tensions and antisocial behaviour set out by other colleagues in the House this afternoon. 
It is very hard to understand why Mr Hawkins would ignore that advice and put a bill forward anyway. Even more worrying is the extent of the new authorities that Mr Hawkins is seeking to invest in the police to deal with prostitution by granting officers powers of arrest that would enable them to stop and search vehicles and demand that passengers state their private details merely on suspicion of committing an offence under this Act. We do not find favour with that. If the passengers—frightened embarrassed or fearful of being outed—happen to object they will be stung anyway with a $1000 fine. 
So many other things could have been done to improve the health and safety of people in Manukau City. For example appropriately targeted and well-designed programmes can offer support education and advocacy to young Maori and others involved in prostitution. The programmes provided by Te Aronga Hou Inaianei for example provide services to those soliciting on the streets of Counties-Manukau. The outreach service the toro atu is a mobile service offering information and support. The awhinatia service links takatapui and youth with appropriate support services. The knowledge and training service matauranga provides well-being education awareness programmes personal development and vocational rehabilitation. 
We do not support this bill going forward. We believe that it sets an undesirable precedent in creating a local exception to the Prostitution Reform Act. Finally we believe that those involved in the sex industry are regulated far more effectively by family and peers than by legislation and the police. 
KEVIN HAGUE (Green) 
: 
 Our caucus sometimes has debates over bills that we do not support or that we support only in part as to whether there is some value in allowing them to go to select committee in the hope that a better bill may emerge. Today I stand to say that the Green Party does not support the Manukau City Council (Regulation of Prostitution in Specified Places) Bill. However some of our members believe that there would be value in discussing the issues further in a select committee and they will vote for the bill’s first reading on that basis. Those members believe that local communities should make local decisions if this is possible without undermining the law. 
The majority of us however will oppose the bill at its first reading. Our reasons for opposing the bill are exactly the same as the reasons that the Green Party vigorously opposed the equivalent bill the last time that George Hawkins introduced it in 2005 and are the same reasons that the Green Party strongly supported Tim Barnett’s original Prostitution Reform Act. The bill enables the council to re-criminalise soliciting in particular areas of its choosing. This effectively recreates exactly the imposition on the rights of sex workers that existed under the old law except that the penalties will be 10 times higher. It is constitutionally objectionable furthermore for local authorities effectively to create criminal law. 
The point of the Prostitution Reform Act was to focus the law on those behaviours that can be associated with soliciting that present actual problems such as people being harassed or intimidated offensive signage or behaviour or used condoms left in public places. There are solutions and remedies for all of those behaviours. Rather than the moral objections that some people have about prostitution this principle is being reversed by the bill that stands before us today. 
I am not belittling the concerns or the anxiety of the Manukau City Council local residents or shopkeepers; rather I am restating the point of view that I expressed back in 2003 as the executive director of the New Zealand Aids Foundation alongside my colleagues from the New Zealand Family Planning Association the National Council of Women the Maori Women’s Welfare League the Public Health Association the New Zealand Federation of Business and Professional Women the YWCA and many other organisations. Those concerns were that marginalised desperate and vulnerable members of our society who end up street-based soliciting in places such as Hunters Corner are easier to reach out to with services and with information if they are not doubly victimised and hiding from criminal sanctions such as those again proposed in this bill. 
Street-based soliciting at Hunters Corner is hardly a new phenomenon. It was extensively discussed in the debate and in the submissions made on Tim’s original bill. The arguments being made tonight in favour of this bill were considered and rejected at that time and then considered and rejected again in 2005 by the Local Government and Environment Committee and by Parliament. Then in 2008 the Prostitution Law Review Committee visited the areas that the council was concerned about discussed the issues broadly and heard from the police that they were more concerned about family violence and abuse of alcohol in these areas. The review committee again rejected the arguments advanced by the council endorsing the recommendation made by the select committee. 
In 2009 the crime prevention unit of the Ministry of Justice undertook another comprehensive review of the specific issues addressed by the bill published under the title  
Review of street-based prostitution in Manukau City 
. Again the review concluded—as have all reviews—that localised measures for working with sex workers and non-governmental organisations were a more productive way to address any actual problems being experienced and that legislative approaches were unlikely to be effective and were quite likely to create fresh problems. 
In summary this bill intends to unwind the intent of the original Act. It is constitutionally repugnant has been considered frequently and in great depth and is both extremely unlikely to achieve its intent and likely to further marginalise some of the most vulnerable members in our entire society. It is a waste of this House’s time. I do not support it going any further. 
H V ROSS ROBERTSON (Labour—Manukau East) 
: 
 Tena koe. Street prostitution can be dangerous. Often in this House we pass legislation with good intentions sometimes not knowing its effects on or ramifications for the people whom we seek to serve. Since the legalisation of prostitution the residents of Hunters Corner in Papatoetoe have never been the same. That also goes for the residents of Otahuhu which also has a street problem. I can tell this House that some traumatic incidents have occurred over the years since the legalisation of prostitution—and out of the public eye. As the local member for both areas I am continually reminded by concerned citizens about the state of Hunters Corner when daylight resumes each day with faeces condoms vomit and drug paraphernalia left in shop doorways and residents woken by actions that concern all and sundry. This evening I stand with and for the people of my electorate and I will vote to support the Manukau City Council (Regulation of Prostitution in Specified Places) Bill going to a select committee at its first reading. 
The bill is not opposed to prostitution—only to where it is carried out. Street prostitution can be dangerous. It can be a dangerous environment in which to work. Such workers are less accessible to health workers who provide a community education programme with a focus on sexual and reproductive health and on HIV/AIDS. The New Zealand Prostitutes Collective also provides community drop-in centres and outreach services throughout New Zealand where prostitutes can access a range of occupational health and safety support services including sexual health advice the use of health clinics and needle exchange programmes. Peer education and support are also provided on a range of issues concerning the health safety and welfare of sex workers. Street prostitution can be dangerous. 
I emphasise again as both of my colleagues have done this evening that this bill is not about eliminating prostitution or revising the Prostitution Reform Act which was passed in 2003. No it is about where prostitution is carried out. As the explanatory note of the bill states “The purpose of the bill is to authorise the Manukau City Council to make bylaws prohibiting the business of prostitution or commercial sexual services in specified public places in Manukau City. The business of prostitution in private premises carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Prostitution Reform Act 2003 will not be affected.” That is where my two colleagues and I from the city of Manukau come from. We recognise that there is a problem. I have campaigned continuously for Hunters Corner in Papatoetoe to be cleaned up. In fact in 2008 I raised the issue with the Mayor of Manukau Len Brown and also with the Counties-Manukau Police District commander Superintendent Mike Bush. They advised that neither of them had the power to do anything about it because no crimes were being committed. 
This proposed legislation allows local businesses and residents to object to prostitution taking place on our streets where it causes nuisance or serious offence to members of the public. It will have no impact whatsoever on brothels or smaller owner-operated brothels. The bill allows for an assessment of the impact of street prostitution in specific public places in Manukau City. I stand here tonight along with my colleagues to support Manukau City Council’s legislation in order that we can do something to protect our street workers. Tihei mauri ora! Tena koutou tena koutou tena koutou katoa. 
Dr CAM CALDER (National) 
: 
 I rise to speak in support of this local bill the Manukau City Council (Regulation of Prostitution in Specified Places) Bill which has been submitted by my colleague the Hon George Hawkins on behalf of the Manukau City Council. I am proud to be the National MP based in Manurewa which is a vibrant and diverse community full of hard-working families ambitious for themselves and for their children. 
Street prostitution as my colleague Mr Ross Robertson observed is a dangerous occupation for its practitioners. It impacts negatively on our community and it has proved to be an intractable problem in our community for a number of years. This bill will authorise the Manukau City Council to make bylaws that will designate specific public places within the boundaries of Manukau City where no person is permitted to conduct the business of prostitution or to supply or receive any commercial sexual services. 
The Government the Manukau City Council and local business associations have effected huge improvements in our local Manurewa town centre over the last couple of years. The activities of prostitutes plying their trade in public spaces such as Manurewa town centre and also the Hunters Corner area of Papatoetoe significantly detract from the civic amenity and impact negatively on community pride. Householders and businesses often have to deal with the unsavoury aftermath. Syringes that litter the ground and other debris are not the welcome mat to Manurewa that this community wants. 
I stand for a safer community. I stand for a Manurewa where our young people are encouraged to unlock the treasure trove of potential that lies within them all a Manurewa where our young people are drenched with exhilaration at the opportunities available to them. I commend this bill to the House and I support its referral to a select committee. 
Hon GEORGE HAWKINS (Labour—Manurewa) 
: 
 First of all I thank the pretender to the throne of Manurewa Cam Calder for getting up—that person from the North Shore is concerned about street prostitution as well. I thank all the people in the House who have spoken today from whatever point of view because I believe that addressing that issue is very important. I thank even those people who spoke against the Manukau City Council (Regulation of Prostitution in Specified Places) Bill. When we have legislation that deals with local problems then I think a bit of passion comes out. 
I have had people over the course of time tell me that instead of picking on the prostitutes we should pick on the men who use them and arrest those men. That is not a bad idea. 
Hon Tau Henare 
: You had 9 years. 
Hon GEORGE HAWKINS 
: Yes I have had 9 years but that member has been here for a long while and what has he done? What has he done? Nothing—not a thing. However I say the real tragedy about all of this is that under-age young girls are involved in prostitution. Of course they cannot work in brothels until they are 18 so they are exposed to street prostitution. When the original reform bill came through Parliament no one thought of that. Now we are trying to use band-aids to cover up problems that we did not foresee. I think that is a pity. We have had people murdered on the streets. Prostitutes have been murdered which shows what a dangerous life it is to be on the streets. 
When we analyse what is happening we hear a council Manukau City Council asking for help. The community that Manukau City Council represents is asking for help. Perhaps the real answer is to go back and redo the Prostitution Reform Act but I do not see many people who want to do that. Perhaps that is what the answer really is—to go back to the legislation. But people will not like to do that because last time the legislation passed by one vote and it was a real test for people. To try in an election year to amend or change the Prostitution Reform Act is the real measure. 
People who have electorates and party offices know what the problems are. People come to see us. People from the churches come to see us. People from the schools come to see us because they do not like kids to walk on their way to school through vomit left by undesirables who mix alcohol and prostitution. It is unseemly and of course it just does not make a town come right. I know that that is what my colleague Ross Robertson really wants to see happen in Hunters Corner where there is a big problem. Ross Robertson is a person who keeps on going and going—a wee bit like the battery. He never runs out; he keeps on going. That is really important because if one does not keep on going—[ 
Interruption 
] 
Ideally we should go back to the Prostitution Reform Act and change it. 
Simon Bridges 
: That was your party. 
Hon GEORGE HAWKINS 
: Yes and we made a mistake. I imagine that the present Government will not change that Act but I thank its members for their support tonight. This bill provides a mechanism whereby once again a problem can be highlighted and a select committee can look at it. When the bill goes to the Local Government and Environment Committee the committee can do some real good work. The police have not been actively involved with this bill. They said they did not have the staff but now that they have the staff they are still not interested. Addressing the issue is too hard for them and it appears to be too hard for some of the political parties represented in this House. 
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER 
: Members the question is that that the motion be agreed to. 
Hon GEORGE HAWKINS (Labour—Manurewa) 
: 
 I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I request that a personal vote be taken. 
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER 
: The member is seeking a personal vote. A personal vote will be held. 
A personal vote was called for on the question  
That the Manukau City Council (Regulation of Prostitution in Specified Places) Bill be now read a first time. 
Ayes 82 
Adams (P) 
English (P) 
Kaye (P) 
Roy H 
Ardern S (P) 
Finlayson (P) 
Key (P) 
Ryall (P) 
Auchinvole 
Foss (P) 
King C (P) 
Shanks (P) 
Bakshi 
Garrett 
Lee 
Sio 
Bennett P (P) 
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Smith L (P) 
Blue (P) 
Goff (P) 
Macindoe 
Smith N (P) 
Borrows 
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Mahuta (P) 
te Heuheu (P) 
Boscawen 
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Tisch (P) 
Bridges 
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McClay 
Tolley 
Brownlee (P) 
Groser (P) 
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Tremain 
Calder 
Guy (P) 
Nash (P) 
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Carter D (P) 
Hawkins 
O’Connor (P) 
Upston (P) 
Carter J (P) 
Hayes 
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Parker (P) 
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Clendon 
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Hide 
Power 
Wong 
Collins (P) 
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Prasad 
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Huo (P) 
Quinn 
Young (P) 
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Hutchison (P) 
Ririnui (P) 
Dean (P) 
Jones (P) 
Robertson R 
Teller: 
Douglas 
Joyce (P) 
Roy E 
Bennett D 
Noes 36 
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King A (P) 
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Barker (P) 
Fenton (P) 
Laban (P) 
Shearer (P) 
Beaumont (P) 
Flavell 
Lees-Galloway 
Street 
Burns (P) 
Hague 
Locke 
Turei 
Chadwick 
Harawira (P) 
Mackey (P) 
Turia (P) 
Chauvel (P) 
Hipkins 
Mallard (P) 
Cunliffe (P) 
Horomia (P) 
Moroney (P) 
Curran (P) 
Hughes G (P) 
Pillay (P) 
Dalziel (P) 
Katene 
Robertson G (P) 
Teller: 
Delahunty (P) 
Kedgley 
Sepuloni (P) 
Hughes D 
Bill read a first time. 
Bill referred to the Local Government and Environment Committee.