{"id":966582,"date":"2026-07-29T10:33:26","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T10:33:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/966582\/"},"modified":"2026-07-29T10:33:26","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T10:33:26","slug":"pink-rabbit-adult-shop-owner-to-appeal-city-of-perth-rejection-of-consensual-sex-club","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/966582\/","title":{"rendered":"Pink Rabbit adult shop owner to appeal City of Perth rejection of consensual sex club"},"content":{"rendered":"

The owner of an adult shop has defended his bid to open a venue where people could meet and have sex, after City of Perth councillors voted against their own staff to reject the plan.<\/p>\n

Adult retailer Pink Rabbit Club applied to council for permission to convert its second storey into a space for people in the LGBTQIA+ community to socialise and engage in consensual sex.<\/p>\n

City staff recommended the members-only space be approved subject to several conditions.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Adult shops are common in cities and towns across Australia (file photo). (ABC News: Daniel Irvine)<\/p>\n

But the council rejected the plan, citing concerns about public safety, the risk of antisocial behaviour and impact on the amenity and character of the area.<\/p>\n

Venue ‘not some foreign thing’<\/p>\n

The club’s director Nick Needham said he was “heartbroken” his plan had been scuttled.<\/p>\n

“I speak to my customers every day. Everyone is just as disappointed as I am,” he said.<\/p>\n

Perth gay sauna offering free mpox vaccinations<\/a><\/p>\n

As mpox cases continue to rise across Australia, a gay venue in Perth is offering free vaccinations and screening in a bid to get ahead of a potential outbreak.<\/p>\n

Mr Needham said sex-on-premises operations were not unusual in Perth.<\/p>\n

“From what I’ve seen, they all run in a very responsible manner \u2026 it’s just there are limited options here in Perth, especially for the queer community,” he said.<\/p>\n

The application to the council included a member-only facility and would facilitate regular testing for sexually transmitted diseases and safe-sex education.<\/p>\n

“They’re in every city and every country around the world. They’re not some foreign thing \u2026 they exist without problems; they function as a positive in most communities,” Mr Needham said.<\/p>\n

Better suited for Northbridge: council<\/p>\n

In the meeting, councillors suggested the premises could be better suited to the Northbridge entertainment district.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Councillors suggested Northbridge would be a more suitable location for the adults-only club. \u00a0 (ABC News: Kenith Png)<\/p>\n

“There is a place for inclusive safe spaces in our city, but it is not this place,”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Cr Catherine Lezer said.<\/p>\n

The council said it held a public consultation on the application and received 341 submissions, with 290 submissions against the proposal.<\/p>\n

Those against the proposal argued the venue would pose negative impacts to public safety and the potential risk for prostitution to occur.<\/p>\n

Others argued the venue would not meet hygiene standards; however, city staff assured councillors the plan satisfied required health standards.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The Perth Steam Works in Northbridge is another venue in the city where sex is permitted. (ABC News: Lauren Smith)<\/p>\n

Cr Viktor Ko said charging for membership was not truly inclusive.<\/p>\n

“I do not believe this is genuinely inclusive. The management plan itself, I can see it is actually very, very good. But from my perspective, because of this paid membership model, I cannot support it,” he said.<\/p>\n

Plan headed for tribunal<\/p>\n

Cr Liam Gobbert voted in favour of the proposal, saying he saw no reason to reject it.<\/p>\n

“Safe spaces for any historically or contemporaneously marginalised, disadvantaged, or persecuted parts of the community are a good thing,” he said.<\/p>\n

“That a private landowner is seeking to provide that type of safe space in our city without government support should be seen as a good thing.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The proposal had conditions that customers would not consume alcohol, must provide verbal consent, and must shut its doors at 9pm.<\/p>\n

“We wouldn’t have harmed anyone, and unless you knew the space was there, it wouldn’t have affected you in the slightest,” Mr Needham said.<\/p>\n

“We are a small business. This application has taken over a year \u2026 so just to pick up and move a few blocks away [to Northbridge], we’re talking hundreds of thousands of dollars with potential for them to just say no again.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Nick Needham says he will ask for the decision to be reviewed.\u00a0 (Supplied: Nick Needham\u00a0)<\/p>\n

Mr Needham said he would take the matter to the State Administrative Tribunal to review the council’s decision.<\/p>\n

“I’m trying to create a safe space for the queer community. It shouldn’t be controversial,” he said.<\/p>\n

“I wish everyone could just look past the sex on premises aspect of it. It’s not just about that.<\/p>\n

“It’s about a social connection. It’s more than just sex.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The owner of an adult shop has defended his bid to open a venue where people could meet…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":966583,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2],"tags":[388285,388284,4740,388286,328926,6283,34180,61572,388291,120639,50,215902,263589,388290,8631,388287,388288,388289,8632],"class_list":["post-966582","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","tag-adult-shop","tag-adult-store","tag-australia","tag-barrack-street","tag-city-of-perth","tag-council","tag-gay","tag-lesbian","tag-lgbtiq","tag-lgbtqi","tag-news","tag-northbridge","tag-perth-cbd","tag-perth-city-council","tag-perth-news","tag-pink-rabbit-club","tag-rowe-group","tag-sex-on-premises","tag-wa-news"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/117002819748945898","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/966582","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=966582"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/966582\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/966583"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=966582"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=966582"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=966582"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}