Court says motel can't ban prostitute from taking clients to her room

The Associated Press

CANBERRA, Australia - Australia's hotel industry has been rocked by a court's ruling that a prostitute was illegally discriminated against by a motel owner who refused to rent her a room to work from.

The prostitute took her discrimination case against the motel in the town of Moranbah to the Queensland state Civil and Administrative Tribunal after management refused to rent her a room.

The motel's lawyer, David Edwards, said Wednesday that the court notified him this week that it had upheld the prostitute's claim of discrimination.

Edwards said she is seeking damages, reported in the Australian newspaper to be 30,000 Australian dollars ($31,500 Cdn).

Richard Munro, chief executive of the Accommodation Association of Australia, said the Queensland and Australian governments should consider changing some of their laws.