A proposal to build a strip club in the heart of town has caused a stir in the Albury community.
Key points:
- A proposal for a centrally-located strip club in Albury has elicited a range of responses
- An online petition opposing the proposal has attracted more than 1,000 signatures
- The matter is yet to be addressed by the council
More than 1,000 people have signed an online petition opposing the establishment of the Emberz Strip Club, citing concerns about its proximity to Albury’s main street.
But the proprietor and a local sex worker advocate said the backlash was overblown.
Business owner Jacob Wolki said a strip club had no place in a community such as Albury.
“My main concern is its location and the effect it will have on local families just trying to go about their normal daily lives,” he said.
“I don’t want to be the person getting in the way of anybody exercising their rights, but I think there’s a time and place where all behaviours are either appropriate or inappropriate.
“And I think having a strip club in the CBD of Albury, where families frequent, is inappropriate.”
Central location
If approved, the strip club would be located on Olive Street, adjacent to Albury’s main thoroughfare and opposite the police station.
“You know, I don’t want to have to be having a discussion with my three young children about what they might have seen or heard when we’re walking down the main street of town to get an ice cream or to go buy some running shoes,” Mr Wolki said.
He was one of many community members pushing back against the proposal.
More than 1,000 people have signed an online petition circulated by the owner of a neighbouring shop.
Like Mr Wolki, many fear such an establishment would undermine the family-friendly atmosphere.
Other concerns included the perpetuation of harmful gender stereotypes or that it would attract criminal activity.
Farrer MP Sussan Ley has also criticised the proposal, saying the adult entertainment industry demeaned women.
Driven by demand
But the club’s would-be proprietor is standing firmly behind her proposal.
Tamara Dixon said there was a lack of local adult entertainment services.
“I’ve worked security in Dean Street for 22 years, and I’m constantly being asked if there’s a strip club in town,” she said.
“And I was having a look around and I thought, ‘You know what, it’s 2023. Albury really needs one’.”
Ms Dixon said she had already considered what the facade would look like.
“The front of the venue will be very plain, and all the windows will be blacked out … there’s no possible way anyone can see inside the venue,” she said.
“So, by walking past it, you’re never going to know what it is.”
An Albury City Council spokesperson said the council had already received numerous objections.
“The threshold for objections before a development application goes to council is five, and we have exceeded that number,” the spokesperson said.
But they said it would be some time before the matter was addressed.
“The application is currently under assessment, and hence we’re not able to provide any public comment,” the spokesperson said.
“It’s hard to say when it will go to council as there are a number of factors at play.
“But it’s unlikely to go to council this year.”
Question of safety
However, the proposal has gained some support.
Shepparton-based sex worker advocate Brea Dorsett, who became a stripper at age 21, said the adult entertainment industry was a polarising subject.
“People either talk about it in a super glorified way, like if you’re a stripper you make so much money,” she said.
“Or alternatively, you have people who absolutely degrade the industry and devalue the people.
“And all of a sudden being a sex worker means you don’t have human rights.”
Ms Dorsett said adult entertainers deserved access to safe, stable employment.
“If they want to do it because they’re curious, feel empowered, or whatever their motive is, they can do it and they can do it safely,” she said.
But she said safety remained a major concern across the industry.
“It’s a workplace and it’s legal,” she said.
“But standards are not being regulated, and they’re not being adhered to. And that is never the workers’ fault.”
‘High-class venue’
Ms Dixon agreed the safety of prospective staff was paramount.
“To make sure they’re well-looked-after, we’re going to have security start half an hour before opening and half an hour after closing,” she said.
“So as soon as the staff pull up, they will be greeted by security at the back entrance.”
She said safety was a consideration in her proposed recruitment and location.
“It needs to be diverse,” she said.
“Gone are the days of strip clubs just being female … there are so many more male strippers out there now.
“And the reason I picked that area is because it’s going to be a high-class venue.
“If it was in an industrial estate, it’s going to end up being known as a brothel or worse.”
She said she didn’t want that perception around it.
“It’s going to be a nice, classy environment come where everyone can feel safe, and both men and women will be protected,” she said.
But some community members, such as Mr Wolki, were unconvinced.
“Look, the fact that they’re going to have security there rings alarm bells already,” he said.
“I run a cafe, and I don’t need a security guard.
“I’ve got a bicycle shop, and I don’t need a security guard.
“And the fact that they’re going to have male and female employees … isn’t it funny that we can correlate equality with subjugating both sexes?”