Queensland is to become a pimps’ paradise after Labor and Greens politicians voted last night for the exploitation of young women through open slather prostitution.

Sure, men can be prostituted but this is a trade that predominantly preys on women.

Twenty-four years ago under former Premier Peter Beattie, Labor vowed this day would never happen.

Back then Beattie ignored evidence of the successful Nordic policy, pioneered by Swedish feminists, which instead of targeting prostituted women criminalises buyers of them and their pimps.

Beattie said he knew better and that small, tightly regulated legal brothels would protect women from exploitation and contain the trade in their bodies.

A tight regulatory framework would be as far as Labor would go, Beattie promised.

That was a lie and a policy failure from day one.

The illegal escort sector took off immediately after his Prostitution Act passed and was largely not policed.

The sex trade was never happy with Beattie’s boutique brothels and now after 20 years of campaigning last night achieved its goal – complete decriminalisation.

Beattie’s brothels, while regulated and supposedly safe, harmed women as I document in my book I Kid You Not – Notes From 20 Years In The Trenches of the Culture Wars.

To its credit, the Liberal National Party voted against last night’s decriminalisation bill and spoke up in Parliament for the successful Nordic approach which has been adopted by many countries around the globe.

Sadly, however, the LNP failed to mount a public campaign so most people have not heard counter-arguments to the glib lines about how wonderful prostitution is as “the world’s oldest profession”.

“You can’t get rid of it”, politicians flippantly say as they vote for it to be decriminalised.

Murder can’t be eradicated either but perpetrators can be punished, which is what the Nordic model does to men who buy women.

The inherent violence, dehumanisation and harm of prostituting women has not entered the public’s consciousness because there has been no public debate.

This was all ignored through a dodgy government-commissioned Queensland Law Reform Commission process.

Sadly, the LNP tends to run dead on social issues.

The good news is Family First has lodged an application for party registration with the Electoral Commission of Queensland and is calling for candidates to come forward who will speak up for the dignity of women and girls.

ACTION: Join the public fight for the values that matter. Join the Family First party today.