Brothel Extensions planned for Sydney

Eddie Hayson

The owner of a Sydney brothel has an application before Sydney Council to double the size of the Stiletto brothel in the inner-city suburb of Camperdown. At the moment it has 20 beds but the owner wants to spend another $12 million, making it the biggest brothel in Australia, with 40 beds and 21 waiting rooms. As long as he's prepared to spend $400,000 improving the quality of the suburb of Camperdown, his application is likely to be approved, in spite of the 80 objections lodged by residents.

The brothel is located on Parramatta Road near Sydney University and is very close to high density residential, educational and medical establishments and as such, it's thought to be a risk to women, students and children. Another objection is about the extra noise and traffic congestion it will create in an already heavily congested area. The claim that the brothel will cause noise and disturb neighbours has been overruled because council said there "was no record of complaint relating to the existing operations of the premises."

But council aren't concerned with any of these objections and unless a miracle happens, tonight they are likely to give owner Eddie Hayson the go ahead. All he has to do is agree to give council $400,000 for improvements to "the public domain" including footpaths, kerbs and build a pedestrian refuge within 800 metres of the brothel, and he's home and hosed.

Hayson is an imfamous figure in racing circles and has a thoroughbred stud of horses. He's also good mates with Rugby League identities Andrew and Matthew Johns and once placed a bet of $100,000 on the Newcastle Knights to beat Parramatta Eels and collected $191,000 for his efforts. He was declared bankrupt in 1999 but had it annulled in 2002 after full repayment.

The mind boggles at the thought of a business that is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and has 21 waiting rooms. The final decision will be up to Clover Moore, our esteemed Sydney Lord Mayor - the woman who spent $70 million on 200 kilometres of bike lanes around town that nobody wanted.

Update:

City of Sydney councillors rejected the plans last night, having received 80 objections. "This brothel is the Westfield of brothels. We're not prudes, we're not opposed to brothels, but we have a policy of spreading them out," councillor Shayne Mallard said.