Nice work if you can get it

[Gob]

One of Sydney's largest councils has launched legal action to close an underground brothel. To win, it not only has to prove that sex is being sold on the premises - but lots of it.

North Sydney Council is understood to have paid for at least one private investigator to go undercover inside the White Cat at Crows Nest and have sex in order to try and convince a magistrate that its two previous closure orders were flouted.The court action follows an investigation by The Sun-Herald in October which found that the same business was promoting a two-tiered pricing system in which Asian workers were being offered for $90 less than the standard $250 hourly rate charged by caucasian women

But the court case, which commenced on Wednesday, is expected to hinge on how much sex the council can prove takes place within the building after a landmark decision went against neighbouring Hornsby Council, in almost identical circumstances, in February.

In that matter, the council spent almost $100,000 attempting to close an alleged illegal parlour located next door to a children's learning centre. A magistrate, however, ruled that council had not proved there was enough sex being sold on the premises for it to fit NSW's definition of "brothel", which requires more than one prostitute to be providing services on site.


North Sydney mayor Jilly Gibson said councils across Sydney were monitoring what happens next: "We are aware that this is now being viewed as something of a test case," she said.

"The spread of illegal brothels has become an enormous problem for all local government. It is impacting on residential areas, schools and small business precincts. The community is telling us it has had enough."

Cr Gibson said unlike legal brothels that provide workers with "rights, protection and a safe work environment", underground vice dens were "breeding grounds" for "exploitation."

"We, as a council, are not prepared to sit back and let this one go."

[Beer Sponge]

Sound like a hard job, but I could be up for it!