Plans for an Auckland brothel for women have been dropped.

Former MP and broadcaster Pam Corkery said she ''lost her nerve'' and pulled the pin, despite securing multimillion-dollar backing for Pammy's Spa Bar and Bordello in the central city.

''I couldn't attend functions without women pulling me to one side telling me how crap their sex life was, and asking when Pammy's was going to open.''

Corkery said she had endured ''a year of hard slog against the male establishment'', including a number of legal and accounting firms being unwilling to represent a venture she said had attracted more than 1000 job applications.

The male prostitutes would have been taught to dance and been trained in sexual health and techniques, and  were to have charged $250 an hour or $500 in the VIP room.

Corkery was telling potential workers of her decision over the weekend but  was unsure what she would do with the intellectual property rights to the project. 

''There's a mountain of research on women's sexuality. I had nothing but support from women, but they wouldn't have to live my life running it.''

Corkery announced plans for the brothel last year, which was to be in the Masonic Temple in Eden Terrace. She also intended making a documentary about the brothel.

- Stuff