The Australian Sex Workers Association, known as the Scarlet Alliance, have warned local governments could lose the power to choose locations for brothels if they refuse approvals.

Scarlet Alliance secretary Meg Marshall said if councils refuse point-blank to approve sex industry premises, those applications could potentially be approved by the State Administrative Tribunal.

“If the State Administrative Tribunal approves the application, the business will have permission to operate but the council will have forfeited its right to have input into the location” she said.

“In my opinion, it’s the councils who are taking the "easy way out".

“With planning schemes amended to disallow sex industry businesses, brothels will be seen by residents to be "foisted" on the community by the State Government, rather than their local council”.

“But is that really in the best interests of the local community?”

“Would residents really prefer the decision to be made by someone outside of the Shire of Busselton?”

Ms Marshall also said there was no evidence to support Busselton Shire president Wes Hartley’s comments in last week’s Mail that there had been an increase in the overall number of sex workers in New Zealand since decriminalisation.

The New Zealand Prostitution Law Reform Committee released their final report on Friday. The report stated the New Zealand Prostitution Reform Act had made a marked effect in safeguarding the right of sex workers to refuse particular clients and practices, chiefly by empowering sex workers by removing the illegality of their work.

“The Committee is very concerned that it appears there are still some managed sex workers who are being required by brothel operators to provide commercial sexual services against their will on occasion” the report stated.

The report also stated the PRA had little impact on the numbers of people working in the sex industry.

Ms Marshall also said Cr Hartley’s claim that ‘no local governments were consulted on the implications of the changes’ was incorrect.

“All primary stakeholders, including shire and city councils, were invited to participate in the initial law reform review and again during the community consultation period” she said.

Minister for Child Protection and Communities Sue Ellery stated in Parliament on March 12 that some local governments were specifically invited to submit to the working group, with plenty of others contacted to take part in the development of the legislation.