Vote due on Central Otago brothels

File photo / City Life South

A draft bylaw to create red-light districts in the Queenstown and Wanaka town centres goes to the vote today.

The proposal follows a Queenstown Lakes District Council review of an existing bylaw that banned brothels in the popular resort towns, the Southland Times reported.

The review found the ban could be contrary to the intention of the Prostitution Reform Act, which decriminalised sex work in 2003, and failing to act could risk an expensive judicial review.

The draft bylaw would permit brothels in the lakefront town centres, with some restrictions on signage and location.

New Zealand Prostitutes' Collective national co-ordinator Catherine Healy said tourists likely had an expectation that sex would be for sale in Queenstown.

But the proposal has met some opposition, with Queenstown Salvation Army auxiliary captain Kenneth Walker saying the council should oppose the draft bylaw even if it led to a legal challenge.

The council can either adopt the bylaw today or refer it to a working party for revision and public consultation.

- NZPA