Red Centre tour operators tangle with Action for Alice admin Darren Clark over page’s effect on tourism

An anti-crime Facebook page and its owner has drawn the ire of two Alice Springs tour operators. But the admin of the page says he shares their fight.

G'Day mate tourist parks owner-operator Bill Wilcox and Wintersun Caravan Park owner Brendan Heenan at the Tourism Central Australia meeting on Monday, February 24, 2025: Picture: Gera Kazakov

A pair of tour operators have taken a stand against an Alice Springs anti-crime Facebook page, but the admin has hit back saying his page is “a voice for the victims in town”.

Speaking at the Tourism Central Australia (TCA) general meeting on Monday, Alice Springs caravan park owners Bill Wilcox and Brendan Heenan shared their thoughts on the Action For Alice page.

The page has long been used by local baker Darren Clark to share crime alerts and tips.

“The Action for Alice Facebook page needs to do a 180 degree turn and start supporting the town and businesses with good stories,” Mr Heenan said.

Wintersun Caravan Park owner Brendan Heenan at the Tourism Central Australia meeting on Monday: Picture: Gera Kazakov

“We don’t want to see more businesses close or more people leaving Alice Springs.

“Alice Springs is no different to all other cities and towns in Australia and they all having crime problems.

“All businesses have tried to attract staff to Alice Springs but people are saying no because of the perceived crime. If we don’t speak up now, we will never be heard.”

Mr Wilcox shared a similar position, and spoke about the “elephant in the room”.

“I think that elephant is Action for Alice 2020 and we need to get on the front foot and build on some of the work that these guys (TCA) have done to try and make positive stories come out of this,” he said.

Mr Wilcox was referring to TCA’s new “stories from the heart” tourism campaign for Alice Springs.

Mr Wilcox choked up while telling the crowd how much he loved the town, while Mr Heenan accused the Facebook page of “spreading fear and misinformation”.

Mr Clark in a statement to the NT News refuted the claim.

Action For Alice Facebook page admin Darren Clark. Picture: Supplied

Mr Clark said “most posts” on his page were media releases from NT Police, reposts of news articles, or “truthful stories of locals and travellers, often with photos and videos” – some of which have millions of views.

“Nobody stood up when the town was headed to a crime crisis. Before starting the page I lobbied government to act, I warned them our businesses would be affected and that eventually tourism would die,” Mr Clark said.

“Nothing changed. The problems won’t go away (and) they can’t be hidden.

“You can’t lie to people and say ‘Come here it’s safe’, when in fact locals know it’s not. The page is a voice for the victims in this town.

“The people need a voice, not for their concerns and fears to be covered up. We have all suffered either physically, mentally, financially, or emotionally throughout this crisis.

“It’s a long road back and we all want people to visit here.”

Mounted police patrol the streets of Alice Springs during the night in 2023. Picture Mark Brake

“We just need it to be safe again so it can grow into the future. People are in fear, that’s why people don’t got out at night.”

Mr Clark said he was “willing to sit with TCA”, but he said they had “never approached” him in the past five years.

He said he had also reached out the Territory’s tourism minister Marie-Clare Boothby, but was yet to receive a response.

At the meeting, the two caravan park owners moved a motion which called upon key candidates to “put forward what they will do for the industry in light of the challenges our region and industry have had to face”.

The motion passed, and TCA chief executive Danial Rochford confirmed to this masthead the organisation had written to the candidates on Wednesday.

Mr Rochford said Mr Wilcox and Mr Heenan’s views do not represent TCA as a whole, “but it does reflect the emotion often told to me by TCA members”.

Originally published as Red Centre tour operators tangle with Action for Alice admin Darren Clark over page’s effect on tourism