Alice Springs Reptile Centre owner shares frustrations on town’s crime with opposition leader

An Alice Springs business owner fed up with crime has vented his frustrations to the opposition leader – and she’s promised to fix them.

Alice Springs Reptile Centre director Rex Neindorf chats with CLP leader Lia Finocchiaro and CLP members Bill Yan and Josh Burgoyne in Alice Springs on July 31, 2024. Picture: Gera Kazakov

A frustrated Red Centre business owner – who says he now locks his doors after an attempt was made to bash them in – has been assured by the opposition leader that her party’s plan for his town “brings hope and optimism for the future”.

Alice Springs Reptile Centre director Rex Neindorf said he recently had “tens and tens and tens of thousands” of dollars in damages to his solar panels by people throwing rocks at them, and is at now taking measures “he’s never had to” take to protect his business.

“That’s how bad things are getting – we’ve got to lock our doors to the public,” he said.

“That should never happen for a tourism business, you need people to be able to come in.

“Only two days ago I was doing a talk inside for a group at the end of the day, I fortunately had the door locked, and two ladies were trying to kick the door in.”

Incidents like this have also cost him staff he said, with one moving back to Queensland in what he also called a “high crime” area.

“That staff person was too afraid to stay in Alice Springs and she’s now left and gone back to Queensland … and she’s gone back to a place that also has high crime – but she said the crime is worse here in Alice Springs.”

Alice Springs Reptile Centre director Rex Neindorf with CLP leader Lia Finocchiaro and CLP members Bill Yan and Josh Burgoyne. Picture: Gera Kazakov

Luckily, none of the reptiles in the centre had been affected by any of the incidents at the centre, according to Mr Neindorf.

Opposition leader Lia Finocchiaro visited Mr Niendorf and his centre on Wednesday when she was in Alice Springs, with Braitling MLA Josh Burgoyne and Namatjira MLA Bill Yan also coming along.

She listened to his story, and used it to reiterate the CLP’s crime policies ahead of the upcoming Territory election on August 24.

She said the CLP plan was in “stark contrast” to Labor’s and would bring “hope and optimism” to Alice Springs.

“We know that our team and our plan has the solutions to the crime problems facing Alice Springs,” she said.

“It starts with getting kids to school, having truancy officers to make sure we can get those kids in the classroom; hold parents accountable for neglecting their children through income management.

“Making sure that right across that range for consequences of offending that we have youth boot camps, work camps for adults and making sure that if people are incarcerated they are given the skills and opportunities to turn their lives around.”

Originally published as Alice Springs Reptile Centre owner shares frustrations on town’s crime with opposition leader