The other 51 MPs are selected from the party lists. Parliament's decisions affect all New Zealanders. Have your say and influence the laws passed by Parliament. You can get involved by voting in elections, contacting an MP, making a submission or petitioning Parliament. However, the Justice and Electoral Committee said that prior to the PRA a range of offences could be committed in association with acts of prostitution, and that for most forms of prostitution it was likely a law would be broken at some stage.
A sex industry has operated in New Zealand since the early days of European colonisation. Enforcement of legislation against prostitutes was sometimes rigorous, especially after the mids. If a woman was found to be affected with a contagious disease she was liable to be detained in a female reformatory. Initially the Act was only enforced in Canterbury, and later briefly in Auckland.
Since massage parlours were defined in law as public places, workers could be convicted for soliciting on the premises. This effectively forced them into non-licensed arenas if they decided to continue sex work.
The group aimed to provide support and education for sex industry workers. This funding, which was continued by subsequent governments, allowed the group to focus on issues including the legal environment of prostitution and public health standards in the sex industry.
During the s calls for decriminalisation intensified. There was a growing public awareness of the sex industry, and the NZPC continued to strengthen support for decriminalisation. The following year members of Parliament visited New South Wales, Australia, where in most forms of sex work had been decriminalised.
