Paraone Pita: Manukau City Council (Control of Street Prostitution) Bill — Second Reading 
Paraone Pita: Manukau City Council (Control of Street Prostitution) Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:634;Page:5660] 
PITA PARAONE (NZ First) 
: 
 Tena koe Mr Assistant Speaker. I stand on behalf of New Zealand First and I say from the outset that we will be supporting the Manukau City Council (Control of Street Prostitution) Bill. I also want to declare a vested interest by virtue of the fact that I am a ratepaying resident of Manukau City. Because of that my party made application to the Business Committee to allow me to sit as a non-voting member on the Local Government and Environment Committee. I wanted to join with those who submitted a minority view. Although due to unforeseen circumstances I was not able to append our party’s name to the minority view I want to have it put on the record that New Zealand First certainly supports the intent of it. 
This bill would make it an offence to solicit or to loiter for the purpose of prostitution in a public place in the Manukau district and because it is a local council bill the intent is limited to just Manukau City. Sadly the committee has used that as one of the reasons why this bill should not go any further. However that does not remove the issue of street prostitution being a major problem in parts of Manukau City. Previous speakers have alluded to those areas of Manukau City. In spite of that the committee has seen fit to recommend that the bill not be passed in its current form. 
We in New Zealand First are of course disappointed in the recommendation as we feel it contravenes the principles of the Local Government Act 2002 which focuses on local decision-making and community involvement in deciding on and dealing with community issues. This bill is an attempt by a local body to deal with the issues that confront it. We feel that the people of Manukau City should have that right as the bill does not seek to change the Prostitution Reform Act and recriminalise prostitution. It seeks to limit prostitution to legally established brothels. The bill also recognises the failure of the Act to eliminate street prostitution and addresses that failure. It should be noted that the Act was passed in 2003. Three years down the track already we are starting to see some of the shortcomings that we were promised that reform legislation would address. Obviously it has not done so. 
We support this bill because the powers given to local authorities to make by-laws in respect of prostitution under the Act do not extend to soliciting. They are limited to the location of brothels and applicable signage. We also support the bill because we believe it recognises that street prostitution is not conducive to any of the aims of the Act which was sold and debated in this House on the basis that it would safeguard the health and safety of sex workers and limit the age of sex workers to those over 18. Already we have heard from speakers in this House this afternoon who have given us examples of situations where that has not occurred. The bill recognises the impact of street prostitution on local residents and business owners and the negative effect it has on the community. We have heard from some speakers that some of the submitters were rather exaggerated in terms of how they presented their views on the situation. Notwithstanding that the fact is that there were instances that could be justified and that were not conducive to a healthy thriving community. 
Although this was promised by supporters of the reform legislation of 2003 street prostitution has not decreased since the passage of that law. On the contrary it is estimated that the number of sex workers in Manukau has quadrupled since 2003. I must concede that we have received some reports that contradict that allegation but notwithstanding that the problem is sufficiently serious for Manukau City to take the step of getting this bill into the House. The council has tried to control the problem through other means including the installation of extra street lighting closed-circuit television cameras rescheduling street cleaning locking public toilets and meeting with police and other stakeholders to find workable solutions. 
I take this opportunity to mention one group that has already been mentioned in this House: the Maori Wardens Association. That particular group which is well intended does not receive the financial support that groups that involve themselves in their communities as the Maori Wardens Association does should get. I give notice that New Zealand First will certainly be taking steps to try to address that issue. 
The Act has clearly failed to control street prostitution and provides no legal mechanism to do so. Manukau City should be applauded for taking the initiative to control behaviour that has an adverse impact on its citizens. Given the fact that this bill is now unlikely to be passed New Zealand First would like to record its disappointment in that and to also remind New Zealanders that we voted against the original reform legislation. We believe that prostitution carries with it enormous physical emotional and social harm none of which has been reduced since the passage of the Act. On the contrary we would argue that the harm has increased. The Act provides protection for the people who sell that type of activity—including brothel owners—and has made it easier for vulnerable women and children to become trapped in an exploitative trade. We have heard examples from the previous speaker of that particular issue. 
Since the passage of the legislation we have seen an increase in the number of under-age sex workers and increasing assaults on and—dare I say it—murders of prostitutes. That runs in the face of what we were told the Act would deliver which was health and safety. We remind the Government of its promise to review the Act. I understand that a review is currently under way and it seems to me that some members of the select committee are putting a lot of reliance on the review process to address the issues that Manukau City has asked to be addressed in this bill. 
I reiterate the position that New Zealand First will take. In consistency with our stance on the original reform legislation we will vote for this bill.