The first submission supporting brothels in Queenstown and Wanaka suggests Frankton's industrial zone as the ideal site for brothels, as it would keep them "away from the tourists and public eye."
"Wouldn't this be better in a safe place, like the industrial area, where there aren't any families living nearby and children wandering the neighbourhood?" Natasha McEwing, of Invercargill, said in her submission to the Queenstown Lakes District Council.
So far the council has received 13 submissions - 12 opposed - since it called for submissions on the Draft Brothel Control Bylaw, on Monday.
Ms McEwing was angered by opposing submitters' suggestions that brothels would attract "gangs, drugs and alcohol abuse".
"[It] is not true. It may have been a thing of the past and the [stigma] is very hard to get away from," but now prostitution had been made legal, brothel owners were subject to tight legal controls and monitoring, she said.
A common thread runs through the opposing submissions, with five different submitters using the exact phrase "there is a strong association between brothels and gang involvement, drug and alcohol abuse".
Although several submitters said they holidayed in the area, none have identified themselves as residents of the Lakes district.
Submissions have come from Dunedin, Invercargill, Mosgiel and as far away as Northland.
As well as concerns about gangs, alcohol and drugs, the bulk of opposing submitters also warn of general "nuisance" or "disruption" and the possibility of used condoms being "littered" around.
The existing bylaw bans brothels within 100m of homes, schools, preschools, churches, community facilities or reserves. A modified bylaw was recommended, because Queenstown's current Brothel Control Bylaw could breach the Prostitution Reform Act 2003, which legalised commercial sex.
Most opposing submitters called for the current bylaw to stand, with some lobbying for changes to the Prostitution Reform Act.
On behalf of Invercargill's St Andrews Church, session clerk Norman MacLean supported the current bylaw and said many of the church's parishioners visited Queenstown and Wanaka and valued the "beauty and benefits of the towns in the area".
"We believe it would be a retrograde step to allow brothels to operate in the centre of towns ...we believe prostitution is harmful to women and too often associated with drug and alcohol abuse," he said.
Norman and Barbara Sutton urged the council to "show some intestinal fortitude" and block the draft bylaw.
Having brothels in the resort towns' CBDs would "turn our country into another Amsterdam of the Pacific, with women soliciting their services to tourists who I'm sure don't travel to these beautiful destinations to be preyed on in this way", they said.
Dunedin's Blair Donkin said neither town should be "exposed to the degrading influences of an industry that destroys community relationships and the social bonds of a healthy society".
Ms McEwing said people had to "face facts" and accept there were "people who use this sort of service.
"Let's be honest, people from all walks of life, from your lower income to higher income bracket ... they could be your next-door neighbour," she said.
Submissions on the Draft Brothel Control Bylaw close on November 22.
