Real Issues No. 286 - Prostitution, US Politics, EU Treaty
Maxim Institute - real issues - No. 286 31 January 2008 www.maxim.org.nz
Underage Prostitutes Still In Harm's Reach
President Bush's Final State Of The Union Address
Lisbon Treaty Brings Leviathan Closer
IN THE NEWS State of the Nation Economically free
UNDERAGE PROSTITUTES STILL IN HARM'S REACH
Underage prostitutes, as young as thirteen, have been picked up in a police operation in South Auckland in the past few
weeks. Over a two week period, 25 people were arrested for various offences that involved engaging in sexual services
with workers under the age of eighteen, while sixteen underage sex workers were removed from the streets.
This alarming number of underage girls and boys raises questions about how well the Prostitution Reform Act is meeting
its objectives and what changes need to be made to the law in order to ensure these vulnerable young people are afforded
adequate protection against such a harmful trade.
Although the numbers are shocking, Detective Senior Sergeant, Dave Pizzini, said on TVNZ's Breakfast programme that they
were unsurprised by the number of underage prostitutes they found. He also pointed out that evidence shows that 'there
are up to a minimum of twelve clearly underage girls working the streets in South Auckland on any given Thursday, Friday
or Saturday night.' He also said that some provisions in the Act are 'problematic,' and have made it difficult for
police to arrest those purchasing underage sex.
Prostitution is harmful to all involved and as a society we should be concerned when even one young person is engaged in
such an activity, let alone sixteen found in South Auckland within such a short time period. The Prostitution Reform
Act, which aims to 'protect them [sex workers] from exploitation,' and to 'prohibit the use in prostitution of persons
under 18 years of age,' instead makes it extremely difficult for purchasers of underage prostitutes to be prosecuted.
Unless the purchaser makes a confession, it is often impossible to get enough evidence to hold up in Court and so the
offender goes uncharged.
The Prostitution Law Review Committee is expected to release a report by the end of this year that critiques the Act and
how well it is achieving its objectives. It is hoped they will take notice of these problems and alter the law
accordingly. It is much too easy to ignore reality and pretend that this sort of abuse is not happening or to suggest
that it does not harm those who are involved. Before anything else, we need to acknowledge that this is a problem and
that it is causing both physical and emotional harm to vulnerable young people. The law must make it easier to punish
those who purchase underage sex, while the community needs to question how we have let these girls and boys end up on
the streets and what we can do to help them find a better future.
PRESIDENT BUSH'S FINAL STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS
This week, George W Bush presented the final State of the Union Address of his presidency which will end in January
2009. The State of the Union address is a requirement set out in Article II, Section 3 of the United States
Constitution, the first one being delivered by George Washington in 1790. It requires the President to 'give to the
Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge
necessary and expedient.' This annual address has evolved throughout the twentieth century into a speech that promotes
the President's agenda and outlines the accomplishments of his term in office to the American people.
President Bush's speech this year concentrated heavily on the war on terror. More than one-third of his address was
dedicated to this topic. While it is a significant issue for the United States and obviously needs to be addressed,
there are also other pressing matters that warranted more of a mention. Bush used the opportunity to press for an
indefinite military presence in Iraq. He also declared that the Afghanistan intervention was progressing steadily,
praising the United States and its allies for the successful implementation of democracy in that country. Iran was once
again in the spotlight; Bush condemned the Iranian government for the harsh oppression of its people and for its active
support of terrorist groups. He also called for Iran to stop its nuclear advancement.
The speech contained only minor mentions of important domestic issues such as housing, health care and education. The
state of the failing economy, though, was at least the secondary theme of the speech, with Bush acknowledging the
uncertainty of many Americans over the weakening economy. He encouraged Congress to pass an economic stimulus package
worth US$150 billion to deal with the slowing of growth in the short term. However, given the concern the American
people feel about the economy and the far-reaching impact of financial strife in the United States, the economy should
have held a more prominent place in Bush's speech. With elections just around the corner, the country needs to be
looking to the issues that they should be assessing presidential candidates on. It would have been good to hear more
detail on other areas, as well as the war on terror.
Read President Bush's 2008 State of the Union Address http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/wh/rem/99783.htm
Read the First State of the Union Address of President George Washington http://www.law.ou.edu/ushistory/washsu.shtml
LISBON TREATY BRINGS LEVIATHAN CLOSER
It looks like after years of deadlock over a constitution, Europe may have finally found a way around the issue.
Britain's House of Commons is currently ratifying the Treaty of Lisbon, a new agreement reached by the members of the
European Union (EU) to improve the way governance functions in the EU. By 2009, all 27 member-states are expected to
have ratified the agreement, ending more than six years of arduous constitutional reform. Functionally the Treaty may
help streamline the Union, but it also impinges on national sovereignty—a high price to pay for efficiency. The tension
lies in striking the right balance between fostering greater prosperity and security throughout Europe, through mutual
cooperation, and protecting national sovereignty from erosion. While more flexible than a constitution, the Treaty is
still far from ideal.
The Lisbon Treaty will help make the leadership of the EU clearer by introducing a full-time President of the European
Council and a single EU foreign policy representative. The number of Commissioners will also be capped at a rotating
two-thirds of the number of member-states. Further, when matters cannot be settled by consensus in the Council of
Ministers (which represents member-states' governments), a double majority vote will take into account the size of each
country's population so that small states do not have disproportionate power. This means, however, that not all
countries will have direct representation all the time. Another worrying step is the abolition of national vetoes in 50
decision-making areas.
Rather than having to reach consensus on Justice and Home Affairs issues, this Treaty will mean they are instead dealt
with like ordinary EU business. Britain and Ireland have both opted out of this provision as it would have meant that
British law could be overridden by the EU.
While the Lisbon Treaty has edged European integration forward, it arguably cedes more of each member-state's
sovereignty to the EU in vital areas of foreign policy, defence, justice, social welfare and taxation, at both the
national and international level.
Read the Treaty of Lisbon http://eur-lex.europa.eu/JOHtml.do?uri=OJ:C:2007:306:SOM:EN:HTML
IN THE NEWS State of the Nation
This week has seen both John Key and Helen Clark deliver their 'State of the Nation' speeches, setting this election
year off to a competitive start. During their speeches both leaders of the major political parties announced proposed
policy with a particular emphasis on youth education. John Key spoke about a 'universal educational entitlement' that
will encourage sixteen and seventeen year olds to take up alternative forms of training free of charge if they wish to
leave school early, while Helen Clark announced a policy for 'boosting teenage participation in formal education' that
intends to see all youth under the age of eighteen in 'school or some other form of education or training.'
Read John Key's speech http://www.national.org.nz/Article.aspx?ArticleID=11772
Read Helen Clark's speech
http://www.beehive.govt.nz/speech/opportunities+new+zealand%e2%80%99s+future+realising+youth+potential
Economically Free
The 2008 Index of Economic Freedom has been released, an index put together by the Heritage Foundation and The Wall
Street Journal. The report sets up ten different categories of freedom and gives each of the 162 countries analysed a
percentage ranking for each category--with 100 percent being 'an economic environment or set of policies that is most
conducive to economic freedom.' New Zealand did extremely well in several categories, scoring 99.9 percent in business
freedom, 96.0 percent in freedom from corruption and 90.0 percent in property rights. There were several areas that let
New Zealand down, however, with our lowest scores for freedom from government (56.0 percent) and fiscal freedom (60.5
percent).
Read 2008 Index of Economic Freedom http://www.heritage.org/research/features/index/index.cfm
TALKING POINT
'... teaching the people themselves to ... discriminate the spirit of liberty from that of licentiousness, cherishing
the first, avoiding the last, and uniting a speedy, but temperate vigilance against encroachments, with an inviolable
respect to the laws.'
President George Washington 8 January 1790, The First State of the Union Address of President George Washington
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