Prostitutes and brothel owners will be restricted to specific areas outside residential areas, and those visiting unlawful operators will be fined under the state government's draft prostitution bill. Ruling out prostitution in WA's suburbs was the primary objective of the bill, according to Mr Porter, who said the current laws surrounding prostitution were simply not working.
All prostitutes and brothel operators will be required to be licensed, and will only be permitted to operate from the approved premises. Owners and operators may be subject to fingerprinting, and would be listed on a registry.
The City of Perth has been exempt from the draft bill, however it specifies that within this area brothels must be at least metres from a residential dwelling.
Mr Porter said police will be given special powers to enter premises where they reasonably suspect unlawful prostitution to be taking place.
While he conceded that the bill may not necessarily reduce prostitution numbers, he said it was important that suburban WA be kept free of brothels and prostitutes. The practices and procedures aren't clear and the powers don't exist to follow up on complaints," he said.
