There's a time and place for everything, local Australian governments have ruled as they move to stop brothels opening near cemeteries.

Local governments in the northern state of Queensland have called on state authorities to establish an exclusion zone banning brothels opening within 200 metres (220 yards) of cemeteries.

It follows a decision by a council in Ipswich, just outside the Queensland capital Brisbane, to reject a proposal for a brothel to be built across the road from the local cemetery.

Ipswich Mayor Paul Pisasale told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio Tuesday that cemeteries were places for quiet reflection by families who should not have to put up with "a brothel going on next door."

"It's totally inappropriate. There's a place for brothels and a place for cemeteries and we don't believe the two mix," he said.