Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Alice Springs Reptile Centre owner Rex Neirndorf claims there’s been a rise in the consumption of hand sanitiser saying he’s picking up about four bags a night

Transcript

Alice Springs Reptile Centre owner Rex Neirndorf claims there’s been a rise in the consumption of hand sanitiser saying he’s picking up about four bags a night · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Now, we have spoken a lot about some of the
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: issues being experienced in Central Australia right now. Last week
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: we're talking quite extensively about the issues around youth crime.
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: We've also spoken a lot about the issues around alcohol misues.
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: And I know that there'd been concerns raised that we'd
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: see further issues around the issues of alcohol when the
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: Stronger Futures legislation ended. Now, one business operator has been
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: out in the media this morning and said that their
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: concerns about an increase in the consumption of hand sanitizer
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  Speaker 1: in Alice Springs, amongst other things. Now, Rex Nindorff joins
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  Speaker 1: me on the line right now from the Alice Springs
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  Speaker 1: Reptile Center. Good morning to you, Rex.
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  Speaker 2: Okay, how are you not too bad?
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  Speaker 1: Rex? Tell us a little bit more about the concerns
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  Speaker 1: that you have raised. Well.
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  Speaker 2: And sanitizer has been heavily used, as in wrongly used
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  Speaker 2: for at least a couple of years now, simply because
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  Speaker 2: it's cheap and it's available. When I say cheap, it's
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: basically all being stolen, and it's rarely available, and it's
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: got about seventy five in alcohol and they just mix
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  Speaker 2: it with any other drink and offer goes. But the
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  Speaker 2: problem is when they're drinking sanitizer, they go mental after it.
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  Speaker 2: But we're still seeing sanitizer being drunk on a regular basis.
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  Speaker 2: So last night I pulled three empty bottles of sanitizer
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  Speaker 2: between myself and the Flying Doctor on the lawns at
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  Speaker 2: our place in Our Springs. But they're during a heap
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  Speaker 2: of Hannah's hand sanitizer still and also heavy alcohol has
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  Speaker 2: been drunk again in large quantities too.
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  Speaker 1: And rex morning impact is that having at the moment,
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  Speaker 1: you know, on the broader community, it's.
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  Speaker 2: Just causing a lot of problems. There's a hell of
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  Speaker 2: a lot of drunk drivers just suddenly going around way
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  Speaker 2: more than what there was just a month or two ago.
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  Speaker 2: We had one crash out in front of our place
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  Speaker 2: that only a couple of nights ago. Was Wednesday night,
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  Speaker 2: it's barely Fooday morning was twelve thirty and I just
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: reviewed the footage and they actually flew into the air
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  Speaker 2: and went straight through the median strip and then crashed
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  Speaker 2: over into almost into a fence on the nearby house.
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  Speaker 2: And lucky there was no one else around it that time,
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  Speaker 2: Otherwise it could have been much worse. But the sheer
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  Speaker 2: amount of drunk drivers going around is just astronomical at
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: the moment, Rex.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, that is terrible to hear and astonishing to hear.
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  Speaker 1: You know that it's happening on a regular basis by
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  Speaker 1: the sounds of things with the drunk driving talk me
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  Speaker 1: through as well, you know, with the issues of the
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: alcohol and the missues of the hand sanitizers, Like how
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  Speaker 1: often are you sort of picking up you know, this
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  Speaker 1: empty hand sanitizers and that kind of thing around your property.
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  Speaker 2: It's a daily, on a nightly basis, So every night
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  Speaker 2: I'll go over and pick up just to account it all.
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  Speaker 2: And so I've got bags and bags and bags of it.
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  Speaker 2: So I've just got shopping bags full of empty bottles,
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  Speaker 2: and that's from the last couple of months, but just
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  Speaker 2: almost every night. It's at least two, three, four bottles
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  Speaker 2: of sanitizer every night. And then you've got heavy alcohol
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  Speaker 2: which is either being or rum usually and a lot
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  Speaker 2: of those eliter bottles. So it looks as though the
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  Speaker 2: people that's a little bit short on cash of drinking
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  Speaker 2: the sanitizer and the other ones that are cashed up
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  Speaker 2: for drinking the good stuff.
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  Speaker 1: Rex. Honestly, you just think to yourself, you know, the
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  Speaker 1: impact the health impact of drinking hand sanitizer and that
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  Speaker 1: real heavy alcohol is terrible, and then the social impacts
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  Speaker 1: is absolutely terrible as well. Do you feel as though
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  Speaker 1: this has changed over recent months as a result of
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  Speaker 1: the changes to the stronger future legislation and the alcohol restrictions.
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  Speaker 2: It's definitely got worse. So the last month or two
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  Speaker 2: is way way worse. And the sheer amount of heavy
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  Speaker 2: alcohol being drunk now has just increased astronomically. So we
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: would normally usually get say cans of eb or something
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  Speaker 2: else like that on the lawns and we would get
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  Speaker 2: a lot of handsome TiSER and now the thing is
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  Speaker 2: mouthwash and I actually got a mouthwashing again the other day.
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  Speaker 2: But it's really changed in the last month to real
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  Speaker 2: heavy duty alcohol again as in beam and run.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, Rex, how are things going from your perspective? I mean,
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  Speaker 1: I know I've spoken to Daniel Rochford on numerous occasions
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  Speaker 1: from Tourism Central Australia about the concerns there. We've spoken
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  Speaker 1: to quite a few people out of Central Australia about
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: the concerns around crime and alcohol issues. You know, from
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  Speaker 1: your perspective, is the town up breaking point? How are
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  Speaker 1: things going?
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  Speaker 2: It certainly is that. I mean town is town, and
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  Speaker 2: town is still good. There's really really great people in
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  Speaker 2: our springs and that showed up the other day after
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  Speaker 2: that little thorm came through, so lots of it went
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  Speaker 2: out and helped everyone. So town is still really good
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  Speaker 2: as far as that goes. But it's pushing a rund
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  Speaker 2: a breaking point with the sheer amount of crime going
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  Speaker 2: on with the children and now with the drink drivers.
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  Speaker 2: It's just going berserk and you just see the stuff
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  Speaker 2: on social media all the time, and it's actually pushing
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  Speaker 2: people to become more I'd hate to say racist, that
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  Speaker 2: people are becoming very very angry at what's going on,
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  Speaker 2: and it's just because of the inaction and the government.
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  Speaker 2: The government has done zero to help anything, and they're saying, oh,
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  Speaker 2: we've got to look after the kids. Well, by letting
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  Speaker 2: these kids go out at nighttime, that's looking after the kids. Either.
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  Speaker 2: The kids actually need to be removed and they need
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  Speaker 2: to be put somewhere, and I would say take them
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  Speaker 2: out bush and they have to be separated from each other.
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  Speaker 2: So when they're in the little gangs, they're King, and
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  Speaker 2: even if they go to Juvie, they're still with their
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  Speaker 2: little gangs. They've got to be separated, you know, stick
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  Speaker 2: one over a one state one somewhere else and just
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  Speaker 2: separate them right out. And they've got to be brought
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  Speaker 2: back to the bare bones and then built up from
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  Speaker 2: there and be come back as a normal human.
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  Speaker 1: Rex. It sounds as though, you know, people have had enough,
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  Speaker 1: the community has had enough. I know you've been there
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  Speaker 1: for such a long period of time. I remember when
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: I lived in Alice Springs and I worked at good
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  Speaker 1: old Malankas and you used to bring the snakes and
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: stuff in there for the tourists. You've been there for
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: such a long period of time, it must be difficult
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  Speaker 1: to sort of wrap your head around what's going on
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  Speaker 1: at the moment.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I've seen ups and downs of that entire period.
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  Speaker 2: And I've been in town for over twenty five years
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  Speaker 2: now and had the Reptols Center running for over twenty.
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  Speaker 2: In fact, it's probably come up to twenty three years
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  Speaker 2: now with the Repsols Center. And yeah, the old Milanka
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  Speaker 2: days were good to see Malanka as. How'll just stay
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  Speaker 2: fenced off a piece of land just in there doing nothing.
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  Speaker 2: They're building a new building just across from that and
• 6:55
  Speaker 2: which shall be housing, and then of course there's the
• 6:58
  Speaker 2: new car park was built for the hosts. So there
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: are things happening around town. However, the sheer influx of
• 7:06
  Speaker 2: drunks in town over the last month or so, it's
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  Speaker 2: just crazy. It's probably the worst I've seen it. And
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  Speaker 2: the sheer amount of alcoholic drinking is just incredible. And
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  Speaker 2: it's all changed in that last couple of months and
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  Speaker 2: something has to have triggered it, which is probably that
• 7:20
  Speaker 2: legislation or the repealing of legislation.
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: Goodness may well, Rex, I really appreciate you having a
• 7:28
  Speaker 1: chat to us this morning. I know it's actually difficult
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: for people to sort of put their necks out and
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  Speaker 1: you know, and speak the truth and explain exactly what's
• 7:36
  Speaker 1: going on, but we appreciate you coming on the show
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: and doing that.
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  Speaker 2: It has to be said, because otherwise it just doesn't
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  Speaker 2: get out there. And it's still not getting out there.
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  Speaker 2: People are been quite shocked if they come here. So
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  Speaker 2: even yesterday we had a lady walk over from the
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  Speaker 2: lawns as the Gan was coming over and she had
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  Speaker 2: been assaulted and sow the Gan tourists had to see
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  Speaker 2: that as well, and then they'll take that out them
• 8:00
  Speaker 2: when they go, which is really sad. What happened, I'm
• 8:06
  Speaker 2: not one hundred percent sure. I know that she was
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  Speaker 2: assaulted and she came over to our place to report it,
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  Speaker 2: and some ganterists happened to walking at the same time
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  Speaker 2: and said they'd seen something happen. So I wasn't there
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  Speaker 2: at the time. I was actually doing a training course.
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  Speaker 2: But yeah, so that happens on a regular basis. It's
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  Speaker 2: really really common. Once they start drinking a hand sanitizer,
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  Speaker 2: everything goes out the window, really messes with them.
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  Speaker 1: That is unbelievable. It's not unbelievable, unfortunately, Rex. It's gotten
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: to the point where where nothing's real unbelievable that we're
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  Speaker 1: seeing or we're hearing. But it's totally unacceptable, and the
• 8:46
  Speaker 1: time has come for the government to deem it unacceptable
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  Speaker 1: as well. I know they keep saying it, but until
• 8:51
  Speaker 1: we see some change, no one's actually going to believe it.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm dreading when these new laws come in and
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  Speaker 2: the kids go up to twelve years of age until
• 9:01
  Speaker 2: become criminally responsible, and if it goes to fourteen it'll
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  Speaker 2: be far worse. I know there's all these bleeding do
• 9:06
  Speaker 2: goods out there saying it's got to happen, but that's
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  Speaker 2: absolute crap. So these kids know exactly what they're doing,
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  Speaker 2: and they're flouting every single law to do it so
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  Speaker 2: and they know exactly what they're doing at all times.
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  Speaker 2: So they're just making use of these laws to their
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  Speaker 2: own advantage, and it's just going to get worse and worse.
• 9:24
  Speaker 1: Rex Nindolf, I appreciate you speaking to me this morning.
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: Thank you very much for coming on the show. Everyone, okay,
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: thank you very thank you, Thanks very much,