Posted July 19, A country brothel that has been operating out of a home across the border from Mildura has been shut down by the local council. Wentworth Shire Council in the south-west of New South Wales has voted to close the business, which had been operating out of a Summer Drive property in Buronga since February. Under New South Wales law, it is legal to operate a brothel in a residential area, provided it complies with certain zoning regulations.
But mayor Melisa Hederics said the brothel had breached several policies under the shire's local environmental plan. She said the issue had been brought to council because of community complaints, an increase in foot traffic and input from local police.
Earlier this year, a public meeting was held where locals called for the shire to shut down the business two weeks after it opened. A body representing New South Wales sex workers warned that decisions made by councils to shut down brothels encouraged discrimination towards the sex industry. Sex Workers Outreach Project chief executive officer Cameron Cox said it was a common story for brothels to be closed because of "prejudiced community members who put pressure on local governments to take action".
Topics: prostitution , work , local-government , buronga , wentworth , nsw. More stories from New South Wales. If you have inside knowledge of a topic in the news, contact the ABC. ABC teams share the story behind the story and insights into the making of digital, TV and radio content. Read about our editorial guiding principles and the standards ABC journalists and content makers follow.
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