/ 30 August 2006

Aussie brothel offers petrol-price discounts

A brothel in Australia’s biggest city, Sydney, is tapping into discontent over high petrol prices by offering clients a discount of about 15% a litre, a report said on Wednesday.

Madam Kerry’s brothel said that like many other Australian businesses, the sex industry has been hit by a slump triggered by soaring world oil prices and the rise in prices at the pump.

“We wanted to think outside the box. We have gone quieter with the high petrol prices and we wanted to find a way to give something back to our clients,” Kerry told the national AAP news agency.

Clients can simply bring in their receipt from the petrol station and claim the discount of 20c (US15c) per litre off the price of the service they choose at the brothel, she said.

Several supermarkets offer similar schemes to customers, who present their till slip at selected service stations to receive a discount.

But to save clients embarrassment, the brothel allows them to visit the petrol station first and then claim from the receipt. — AFP