Prostitutes given right to work from motel rooms
Source: Agencies |
August 9, 2012, Thursday
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PROSTITUTES have the right to work from motel rooms in an Australian state, a court said after finding the owner's refusal to rent to a sex worker was discriminatory.
The ruling in the northeastern state of Queensland has stunned hotel and motel owners, who thought they had a right to decide what sort of businesses were operating from their premises.
The prostitute, identified as G.K., took her discrimination case against Drovers Rest Motel in the coal mining town of Moranbah to Queensland state's Civil and Administrative Tribunal after management refused to rent her a room.
The 3 1/2-star motel's lawyer, David Edwards, said yesterday that the court notified him this week that it had upheld the prostitute's claim. Edwards confirmed she is seeking damages, which The Australian newspaper reported to be 30,000 Australian dollars (US$32,000).
The tribunal's reasons for its decision have not yet been made public. But prostitution is legal in Queensland, and discrimination based on lawful sexual activity is outlawed. Prostitutes are flocking to Outback mining towns such as Moranbah, where they base themselves for short periods to cash in on an Australian mining boom.
Edwards said he was considering appealing the ruling.
Janelle Fawkes, chief executive of the Scarlet Alliance, Australian Sex Workers Association, said the ruling was a major win for the prostitution industry throughout Australia.
The owners of the Drovers Rest Motel declined to comment.
"Not everyone would choose to do the job I do, but it's not right that they can treat me like as second-class citizen," the prostitute, who lost her original case, told The Australian. "They wanted me to go away, but I am a tenacious little terrier, and I would not give up," she said.
Richard Munro, chief executive of the Accommodation Association of Australia, a tourism industry lobby group, said the Queensland and Australian governments should consider changing laws to ensure that hotel and motel owners can decide what sort of businesses are being operated under their roofs.
"It's absolutely illogical," Munro said. "If a hairdresser decided to set up shop in the motel and started inviting people in to get their hair cut, I think the motel owner would have the right to say, 'Hang on, that's a different business operating out of my business.'"
The ruling in the northeastern state of Queensland has stunned hotel and motel owners, who thought they had a right to decide what sort of businesses were operating from their premises.
The prostitute, identified as G.K., took her discrimination case against Drovers Rest Motel in the coal mining town of Moranbah to Queensland state's Civil and Administrative Tribunal after management refused to rent her a room.
The 3 1/2-star motel's lawyer, David Edwards, said yesterday that the court notified him this week that it had upheld the prostitute's claim. Edwards confirmed she is seeking damages, which The Australian newspaper reported to be 30,000 Australian dollars (US$32,000).
The tribunal's reasons for its decision have not yet been made public. But prostitution is legal in Queensland, and discrimination based on lawful sexual activity is outlawed. Prostitutes are flocking to Outback mining towns such as Moranbah, where they base themselves for short periods to cash in on an Australian mining boom.
Edwards said he was considering appealing the ruling.
Janelle Fawkes, chief executive of the Scarlet Alliance, Australian Sex Workers Association, said the ruling was a major win for the prostitution industry throughout Australia.
The owners of the Drovers Rest Motel declined to comment.
"Not everyone would choose to do the job I do, but it's not right that they can treat me like as second-class citizen," the prostitute, who lost her original case, told The Australian. "They wanted me to go away, but I am a tenacious little terrier, and I would not give up," she said.
Richard Munro, chief executive of the Accommodation Association of Australia, a tourism industry lobby group, said the Queensland and Australian governments should consider changing laws to ensure that hotel and motel owners can decide what sort of businesses are being operated under their roofs.
"It's absolutely illogical," Munro said. "If a hairdresser decided to set up shop in the motel and started inviting people in to get their hair cut, I think the motel owner would have the right to say, 'Hang on, that's a different business operating out of my business.'"
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