Sex workers' collective calls for bar to be shut
A sex workers' collective is calling for a new Queenstown bar featuring strip shows to be shut down as it is not operating under an "adult entertainment" liquor licence.
The Ultimate Man Cave Seek — 40% owned by controversial Christchurch-based strip club chain Calendar Girls — opened last Friday in underground Church St premises formerly occupied by the Seek nightclub.
Promotions for the venue's first two nights depicted two strippers around a pole and promised "lap dancers, private rooms, karaoke, gaming — whatever you desire we're here to provide".
However, Calendar Girls founder James Samson said the bar was primarily a sports tavern, which only had Calendar Girls strip shows, lap dances and pole dancing on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights from 9pm.
Early this year, Christchurch-based Alan Samson Ltd, whose sole director is James Samson's mother, Vicki Samson, bought 40% of Seek Night Club Ltd with the intention of buying the remaining shares over 18 months.
Mr Samson is barred from owning a company after being jailed on drugs charges.
Seek Night Club Ltd then applied for an adult entertainment liquor licence, which attracted a total of 71 written objections.
The Queenstown Lakes District Council confirmed "there is currently no date set for a hearing".
In its application, Seek Night Club Ltd said when it reopened it would remain a tavern until its adult entertainment liquor licence was granted.
Sex workers union Fired Up Stilettos chairwoman Bianca Beebe said "we were really surprised to learn they're able to reopen on an expired tavern licence, particularly since the police objected very strongly to the idea you can operate a strip club on a tavern licence".
Though that licence had expired, "you're allowed to continue operating your licence if you have already applied for a renewal" — which had been in train since mid-last year, the council confirmed.
A tavern licence permits "entertainment", which Ms Beebe said she thought was being used as a loophole to allow Calendar Girls to run strip shows at the venue.
"Unfortunately, neither in statutory or case law does it define what entertainment is."
She said the situation was "making a mockery of all of Queenstown's restrictions, and honestly I don't understand how every business owner who has a legitimate licence isn't furious".
"I would ask if Queenstown council wants to be a joke.
"Seek/Calendar Girls were told they cannot operate a strip club on a tavern licence, and here they are explicitly advertising for and operating a strip club under a tavern licence."
Ms Beebe questioned whether the council was going to be played for a fool, "or are you going to do something about this?"
Queenstown Mayor Glyn Lewers said his regulatory team was preparing a report for the district licensing committee on whether the venue could operate under its existing tavern licence due to the "entertainment" provision.
"There is case law that defines what a tavern is, but there's nothing that talks about entertainment that we can see.
"From my point of view, there is a grey area.
"Look, they might be testing the limits on 'entertainment' with respect to a tavern, but I'm not the decision-maker here."
Asked if lap dancing and nude dancing were normal entertainment in a tavern, Mr Lewers said "I might be old school".
"[For me] it's turning up for a jug with your mates with a bit of pool and watching a bit of sport on TV and the occasional meat raffle."
Asked if council could apply some urgency to its decision-making , he responded: "look, like with all legislation from central government, they've got timeframes to meet".
As for the adult entertainment licence application, "we'll prepare a report and take into account all the submissions".
"That report will then go to the district licensing committee, and if the applicant wants to pursue that licence, that will go to a hearing and that hearing will be made public, and it will be on our website."
Mr Samson, however, said he would now withdraw the application for an adult entertainment licence.
Last September, a petition trying to stop Calendar Girls coming to Queenstown was launched by a dancer from existing local strip club Soho.
Spurred by concerns over Mr Samson's link to Calendar Girls and over the chain's alleged "labour exploitation", it attracted 1724 signatures before it was pulled by its host website.
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