The Age from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia • Page 12

12- THE AGE, Tuesday, April 17, 1979 Bealim -n the girls parlors with and man, she said. "They sit down and tell you what's happening. They like to tell you their worries they don't treat you like police. "We're possibly their closest friends. If they are hassled by undesirables, we help them.

They come to us if someone tries to stand over them," said Senior Constable Andrew Fox. It's a grisly subject, and perhaps the worst aspect is the large number of under-ae girls in the business. "There are a lot of 17-year-old prostitutes," said Sergeant Bob Johnson. "We found one as young as 13 and another even being worked by her father" he said. One story tells of a girl who went to court, where it was discovered she was only 16.

They didn't know she was also are, who -owns them and what they're doing," Sergeant Hilton-Wood said. They argue that the girls don't want decriminalisation themselves. "They dont want to pay taxes, have house checks. "How would they pay for their habits then? They'd lose all the money in tax. "The only registered massage parlor was forced out of business by the regulations." Sergeant Johnson said more controls would be necessary with decriminalisation.

But there are changes in the law he would like to see. He would like to be able to charge any person using the premises, including the owner, occupier or person in charge and he would like to broaden the legislation to cover escort agencies and call-girl services. Wood. It's only all the things that surround it, like living off the earnings of soliciting, using premises and so on. Even using premises for prostitution is a doubtful one, because the act contains the world habitually, and this rules out casual prostitution such as call-girl and escort services.

The squad must be able to prove the premises were used more than once, and that is usually difficult. Men cannot be charged with prostitution, and male prostitution with female clients is not illegal, so the squad doesn't worry about it Melbourne has always had a particular problem with prostitution, but the squad argues that is has the situation under control. "We know where all the parlors "The usual age is about 16 for the young ones," he said. As a woman in the squad, Gail has had to earn the trust not only of the public, but also of her male colleagues. Some still insist they don't want women in the squad, but at the same time insist that Constable Walsh is OK and that she works well.

But it's not the Equal Opportunity Act which has brought women into the squad. The act hinders their chances, Constable Fox said. The squad is now unable to advertise specifically for women. Sitting around, a table in a hotel, squad members couldn't look less like police. That's the whole idea.

Their work is all undercover. "It's as much acting as anything else," said Senior Constable Bob Cross. "It's a challenge to see if you can do it If you can't handle it, you get out "You get disheartened, It's like talking to a brick wall sometimes. You talk and you talk and they say they'll do something and next time you see them they're 10 times worse. Ninety per cent of the street girls are lesbians and a similar number are heroin addicts, the squad members claim.

"You'll never change them," Constable Walsh said. "How else are they going to support their habits?" "One girl told me she's earned $45,000 in the past six months and she hasn't got a cent of it. She's good she's got her matric, and she's well educated and well spoken." The girls talk7 to Constable Walsh more than they would to a By KATE DUNSTAN Constable Gail Walsh lounges around on street corners and applies for jobs at massage parlors. She is one of the two female members of Victoria's Licensing, Gaming and vice squad. Surprisingly, jobs in the squad are sought after.

The 30 members are hand' picked, usually after about five years' experience else-( where. It's a job that requires a certain personality, Ithey all agree. Like the men, Constable Walsh loves her job and finds it fascinating.1 But there are parts she hates, such as the parlor interviews and waiting for "gutter "No, I'm not afraid. You couldn't do- it if you were afraid. It's just She defends her job.

"I don't believe in provoking them at all. I wouldn't go on the street dressed in tiny top and shorts. I stand there like a normal citizen on the block. I dress like I was going shopping," she "They've got to approach me. Even if they beckon to me I wait until they come to me or I'd be soliciting Working with the "girls" has opened her eyes, Constable Walsh said.

Yes, the job does affect your social life, and it does harden you a bit. But it's all part of the job and you do it because it's required. They are good friends, they work as a team. They speak with a professional ease about subjects most people find embarrassing, but they are not hardened or blase. They can see the funny side as well as the heartache.

They not only work in the seamy side of town, they take part. While Constable Walsh is applying for parlor jobs and for gutter crawlers, the men are acting as clients in parlors and doing their rounds. The legal question surrounding sex changes is just one of several grey areas. A saying in the squad is that they can be only as good as the legislation which they work through. And that is outdated.

Prostitution itself is not illegal, explained Sergeant David Hilton- Cataaet Pub with no cheer Crozier to probe lake ferry idea 'Glimmer of hope' in freeway fight i OB responsible for the metropolitan planning scheme, froze the CRB plan by issuing amendment The amendment is a new proposal which would make use of an ex isting reservation. At least two homes at the south western side of minerals the intersection of Harp Road and Normanby Koaa would be demolisn- Mr. 'Homes: ed. The Development and Tourism Minister, Mr. Crozier, said yesterday his department would examine the need for a car ferry -on Eil-don Weir.

"The idea has some merit, but a detailed study would be needed by tourism experts before the Government could make a decision," Mr. Crozier said. He was commenting on a call by some local businessmen on Sunday for the ferry to counter a 20 per cent drop in the tourist trade in the past 12 months. Alexandra Shire councillor Max McDonald said a 20-car ferry linking the northern shores of the lake with Eildon and Mansfield would cut 96-kilometre road journey to 25.6 kilo-roetres. Mr.

Crozier said the big cut in distance was obviously attractive but other factors, such as cost and operations had to be examined closely. He said he would ask his department to study the proposal but doubted it would be completed before the May 5 election. A Board of Works proposal to amend the CRB's planned E6 freeway route through Kew has angered some residents but for Bertram Homes it's the only glimmer of hope in two years. "The CRB's plan would have been the death of me." Mr. Homes, 86, said yesterday.

"I couldn't leave. I've lived in this house for about 55 years," he said at his weatherboard home in Harp Street. Mr. Homes was a primary school teacher for 42 years. He is now legally blind, has to use crutches and has no family.

"I'm praying that the alternative route will go ahead. It's the only glimmer of hope left," he said. "I could never live in a home." Mr. Homes gained media attention in December, 1977, when he Four homes on the other side would lose up to five metres of their front gardens. The board's slightly longer From MICHELLE GRATTAN, our Chief Political Correspondent' CANBERRA.

Federal Cabinet will consider the controversial Anthony guidelines on mineral export negotiations when it meets in Melbourne today. The topic will be second on the agenda. It was deferred recently because Mr. Anthony was going overseas. route could cost about $16 million.

One of the residents said he would refuse to budge from his home to make way for the freeway. The CRB plan involved the acquisition of 21 homes for a $12.6 million feeder link from the Harp Road High Street intersection to the Eastern Freeway at the Chandler Highway interchange. The CRB spent nearly $200,000 buying at least five homes to make way for their route. But on April 11, tht Board of Works, which is affected by the Board of Works plan, Mr. Ken Harrison, said he was shocked.

The CRB had forced families out of the homes up the street now the Board of Works wanted to force others out. ljj MB The Government is under pressure to consider its attitude to the guidelines before next weekend's meeting of the Liberal Party Federal council in Perth. The party's West Australian branch is set for a fresh attack on the policy. The WA Premier, Sir Charles Court, has repeatedly criticised the guidelines since Mr. Anthony, Minister for Trade and Resources, announced them last October without consulting The Prime Minister, MriFraser, recently refused to guarantee that the guidelines would not be watered down or scrapped.

He was answering a question in Federal Parlia- menu Under the new policy, companies must get Government approval before they negotiate with an overseas buyer or enter any sales contract. The guidelines cover the sale of coal, iron ore, alumina and bauxite. Mr. Anthony, who has defended the guidelines strongly, has a paper before Cabinet which outlines how they were used in recent iron ore and coal negotiations. The main Government critics of the guidelines, designed to strengthen the bargaining hand of Australian companies facing Japanese cartels, are the Treasury and Finance departments.

The support of the Prime Minister's Department is also in doubt. The Government's problem in watering down the guidelines is that Mr. Anthony would lose face. But if it sticks to them, the Government will come under continued criticism from the WA and Queensland Governments and the Mining Industry Council. Today's Cabinet meeting is also expected to discuss tax avoidance.

New UN bid on Rhodesia Centre likely From MICHELLE GRATTAN CANBERRA. The Australian Government faces fresh United Nations pressure soon to close the Rhodesia Information Centre in Sydney. The UN Security Council is likely within the next few days to consider a report on how well countries are applying sanctions against Rhodesia. The UN sanctions committee, which is preparing the report, is believed to have discussed the continued existence of information centres in Australia and the US. Any US pressure will put the Australian Government on the spot Cabinet last week again discussed action to close the Sydney centre.

But a Government source said yesterday the proposed legislation had been sent away for "further The Government is publicly committed to closing the centre. But there is opposition within its ranks toth from the "Rhodesia lobby" and from those who regard such action as a denial of freedom of speech. In May 1977 Foreign Minister, Mr. Peacock told Federal Parliament the Government would consider the closure of the centre in light of a UN request' In November that year, it deferred moves to close the centre until after the Federal election. In April 1978, the centre sought a reprieve because of the proposed internal political settlement in Rhodesia.

Ford says Falcon sales are record Ford Australia has claimed record sales for its XD Falcon in the car's first two weeks on the market. The group's assistant The evening train from Flinders Street tonight just won't be the same for hundreds of Young and Jackson's patrons. Melbourne's most famous pub closed its doors last night for two weeks so upsetting the drinking habits of many city workers who pop into and Js before heading home. The Liquor Control Commission ordered the closing because of underage drinking at the pub in March 1978, on the night of the Beach Boys' Myer Music Bowl concert. Yesterday, while regulars drank their last ales at the pub for a fortnight Chloe, Young and Jack- son's most celebrated looked blase about the whole thing.

And the' beer flowed freely, unlike the last time and J's closed during World War II when supplies ran out. Young and Jackson's manager, Mr. Eugene O'Leary, said 69 employees would-be taking a paid holiday during the break. One regular, Mr. Michael O'Hara, 76, of Colling-wood, was staying patriotic to his pub with good reason.

He had started his drinking career at six years of age, selling papers outside Young and Jacksons. He had been fed glasses of beer thinking they were dry ginger ale. Til have to lock myself inside at home," he said gloomily. managing director, Mr. Ed-sel Ford II, said yesterday, that 3158 new cars had been delivered to customers of a total of 10,150 ordered.

But no formal indication of the XD's sales can be ex pected before next week when the monthly car registration statistics are due jjli to be released. Ford has pre-empted the They came for the kicks figures, generally regarded as the only efficient yardstick of car industry sales and market shares. Mr. Ford said yesterday XD sales had beaten' other manufacturers' records, not ably 2200 Commodores sold by GMH dealers in the first two weeks of November last year and 1502 Chrysler Siemas in its first two weeks on sales a year ear lier." He said Ford was well on the way. to achieving its sales objectives for this year and lifting its market snare to about 24.b per cent.

sum It claims between 19 and 20 per cent of the car mar ket while GMH claims about 1 II i Ifeft 27 per cent. A spokesman for GMH, Mr. John Morrison; said Compare Deep Image in any side-by-side test and you'll see instantly why AWA Deep OUtDGrf OrmS ImaSe outperforms. And why it outvalues. vrui4ti i 1 1 1 1 Take it home ancj yOU'n experience.

how it outlasts! Tobacco ads rapped The Australian Cancer Society wants the Federal Government to review sports sponsorship by the tobacco industry. In an editorial in its Journal 'Cancer Forum', the society condemned the sponsorship as a blatant breach of the spirit of legislation against cigarette advertising. The society said politicians apparently did not appreciate the effect die sports sponsorship had on young people. "Although the Australian team didn't do so well during the recent Test series, one Australian manufacturer had victory after victory," said the editorial under the heading The New Subtleties of Cigarette Promotion'. "Nowhere is this better epitomised than in the large photograph in the Sydney newspaper which showed Test skipper Graham Yallop kissing the Benson Hedges gold cup," it said.

The society said it was not criticising Yallop. "Nevertheless, the fHlip given to the advertising campaign of the Benson Hedges company, by their sponsorship of Test cricket must be substantial." The society said the tobacco industry was spending more than $5 million to support sport "We do not share the tobacco industry's view that children under 16 are magically immune to the appeal of sporting promo- By JEFF WELLS It was the Lang Lang rodeo, the one day of the year when Melbourne goes cowboy. There were horse cowboys, horsepower cowboys, rugged cowboys, ragged cowboys, $100 denim cowboys, Rhinestone cow-: boys, and milk bar cowboys. For 34 years on Easter Monday, Lang Lang has provided Melbourne with a short drive into the world of myth. It is a chance for the sedentary city dweller to soak up a little of the pioneer spirit we are supposed to have the flame that now barely flickers in the comfort of the suburbs.

It is a rodeo which, at the moment, the top rodeo cowboys avoid because it does not earn them championship points on the circuit. It attracts a lot of raw young bucks and broken down battlers from the bush. But also, surprisingly, there are those there to prove that while the city flame flickers, it has not died. There biting dust was a bank clerk named Bluey Cluning from the wilds of There were broncoousters from the lone prairies of West Footscray and bulldoggers who had drifted in from the high plains of Burwood. Fresh-faced kids swaggered up to the entry box and plonked down $10 bills for the privilege of spending a couple of gut-wrenching seconds on the back.

of a corkscrewing 700 kilogramm Brahman bull. And when it was over most of these brick veneer buckaroos clambered into their chrome covered wagons and crawled bumper to bumper back to suburbia for another year. yesterday GMH arid Ford sales: figures are comparable-only on monthly basis when the AD APS statistics are available. "It's the long term picture that counts," he said. outvalues outlasts 53 cm AWA Deep Image colour with Super Chassis Soft push-button tuning, precision in-line guns, -v-; 110 degree deflection Deep Image picture tube with.

unique self-convergence system, internal magnetic -v shield, quick start, VHFUHF tuners, automatic fine tuning, earphone, tone control and hide-away minor. controls. Teak and walnut finishes. Kill count: no bail A man charged with murder MUM deep image colour AWA provides Australia with a vast range of superb electronics, audio and video, from Docket portables, clock radio to Hi-Fi was refused bail in Melbourne Magistrates' Court yesterday. Earle Dudley Hughes.

36. of Kangaroo Road. Oak- equipment. TV from 22 cm ACIDC colour portables leigh, was charged with murdering Michael Robert i an to Projection TV with its giant 180 cm screen. Jacotine, 27, at Murrum- ay beena, on Saturday.

Hughes was remanded to T3101 appear at the same court on April 27. Noel Wiltshire, of Undue, part company with a Brahman bull at tha Lanf Lang Rodeo. i.