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Bucks parties? In the ‘burbs of secular Australia, they’re regarded as only a little bit naughty and fairly normal. Not so, says BERNARD TOUTOUNJI. It’s time for real men to step up to the plate - Page 17
Archbishop warns of police corruption BY ANTHONY BARICH ARCHBISHOP Barry Hickey (pictured) has warned that the WA Government’s plan to legalise prostitution in restricted zones will normalise the industry, increase the proliferation of illegal brothels and expose police to corruption. While admitting that eliminating prostitution is impossible, the Archbishop said legalising brothels is not the solution as it “sends the wrong message that going to a prostitute is socially and morally acceptable” and “creates a belief that women especially are only
sex objects for personal gratification”. The resultant increase in demand from partial legalisation will mean illegal brothels will proliferate, which has happened in other Australian States, he said. “Illegal brothels will occupy police resources extensively and will offer the same dangers of exposure to corruption that legalisation hopes to avoid,” he said. “Legalisation does not eliminate those dangers.” His comments come less than a month after The Record revealed that the ‘Swedish model’ of criminalising buying sex and educating law enforcement in areas such as
the inherent dignity of women has been vindicated by an assessment of the country’s law over 10 years. Under the WA Government’s proposed model, all forms of prostitution will be banned from residential areas and police will be given expanded powers to shut down illegal brothels. But Archbishop Hickey said that with a system of legal and illegal brothels, police will have even more work than before legalisation as they will need to additionally monitor legal brothels for compliance with the law. WA Attorney General Christian Porter has already admit-
ted that present laws criminalising brothels have not worked as law enforcement cannot police them. Though Mr Porter told a June 2010 Belmont community forum that police have told him that trafficking does not exist in WA, Archbishop Hickey warned that close attention should be paid to the spread of trafficking of young girls against their will. “Horrifying stories are emerging across the world of children being sold to brothels, girls being drugged and abused, made ready for prostiPlease turn to Page 2
Not even fire stopped teachers and school community BY PETER ROSENGREN TEACHERS at Good Shepherd Catholic Primary School forced to evacuate in the face of a raging bushfire in Kelmscott and Roleystone still turned up to work on Monday morning wearing the same clothes in which they fled the conflagration. This was just part of the dedication displayed by staff out of commitment to their students and the families of the school, Principal Gabrielle Doyle told The Record. From 7 February, the second
day of the devastating fires, students from the school were temporarily relocated from their picturesque campus in Arbuthnot Street, Kelmscott to Lumen Christi College, a large Catholic secondary school nestled at the foot of Perth’s hills in Gosnells several kilometres to the north. Remarkably, teachers who had been contacted by Mrs Doyle on the day of the fire to be informed of the assessment of the school’s situation, including those who had evacuated their own homes with nothPlease turn to Page 2
You. Me. Everybody! We’re all just grown up embryos! ‘CAST THE VISION’ kick-off rally 7.00 pm Saturday 5th March at Churchlands Christian Fellowship, 154 Balcatta Road, Balcatta
DAY OF THE UNBORN CHILD mid-way event 10.00 am Saturday 26th March at St Mary’s Cathedral, Victoria Square, Perth
PRAY TO END ABORTION PERTH ‘40 DAYS’ CAMPAIGN Students from Good Shepherd Primary School in Kelmscott attend class in their temporary school on Wednesday 9 February at Lumen Christi College in Gosnells after their campus was threatened by fire in the devastating Kelmscott and Roleystone fires of 7 and 8 February. They returned to classes on Thursday 10 February. PHOTO: COURTESY GOOD SHEPHERD CATHOLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL
From 9th March to 17th April 2011
www.40daysforlife.com/perthwa