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Prostitution Reform Act 2003
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<p>The Prostitution Reform Act 2003 is an Act of Parliament that decriminalised <a href="/facts/Prostitution_in_New_Zealand/YY8H8ykT">prostitution in New Zealand</a>. The Act also gave new <a href="/facts/Sex_workers%27_rights/QmkpG6yp">rights to sex workers</a>. It has attracted international attention, although its reception has been mixed. The Act repealed the <a href="/facts/Massage_Parlours_Act_1978/W7ad7fNQ">Massage Parlours Act 1978</a> and the associated regulations. </p><p>The Act was introduced as a <a href="/facts/Private_Member%27s_Bill/1t7mrhhA">member's bill</a> by <a href="/facts/Tim_Barnett_(politician)/hhkuqLsw">Tim Barnett</a> after being drawn from a ballot. Members were allowed a conscience vote, and on 25 June 2003, the bill passed its third reading by a margin of one vote (60–59), after the country's only Muslim MP, <a href="/facts/Ashraf_Choudhary/mkJqHoap">Ashraf Choudhary</a>, voted to abstain, thereby allowing the bill to narrowly pass. </p>