Youth cause $20k damage at Alice Springs Reptile Centre by throwing rocks from Billy Goat Hill
KIDS throwing rocks at the roof of Alice Springs Reptile Centre caused around $20,000 in damage
Centralian Advocate
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KIDS throwing rocks at the roof of Alice Springs Reptile Centre caused around $20,000 in damage to its solar panels and hot water system on Saturday night, according to owner and operator Rex Neindorf.
“We’ll be out of pocket with our excess and of course our premiums all go up,” Mr Neindorf said.
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He explained that the problem is partly due to a lack of fencing around Billy Goat Hill, which sits adjacent to the Reptile Centre, and allows kids to climb up high enough to throw rocks into the premises.
“It’s about time that the entire Billy Goat Hill was entirely fenced off to stop this from happening,” Mr Neindorf said.
“It’s a shemozzle trying to get anything done there because we’re in a heritage-listed area and Billy Goat Hill is a sacred site.”
Mr Neindorf is sceptical about the changes Chief Minister Michael Gunner announced on Tuesday to start cracking down on youth crime.
He believes a youth curfew coupled with formal mediation between victims and offenders would be the best approach.
“All the things the government is putting in place are too focused on the long term,” Mr Neindorf said.
“Something needs to happen immediately. You need to put rapid solutions in. The changes they’re doing are piecemeal and are just not going to be effective.
“Get (the kids) off the streets, give them a good feed. That’s the only thing that will work.”
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He also said it was imperative the community starts directly engaging with young offenders “to understand the psyche of these kids”, and that’s where victim-offender mediation could be deployed.
“We need the curfew but then we need to speak to the kids to understand why they’re out on the streets.”
The Gunner government, NT Police, and Amnesty International have all previously stated their opposition to a youth curfew.
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