CBD store owner rage
A PROMINENT Darwin business owner has labelled the council a “bunch of numbnuts”, calling the local government ineffective at dealing with the issue of itinerants.
Cafe 21 owner Jenny Um said she was considering teaming up with other retailers in the Smith St Mall to hire private security for the area.
A PROMINENT Darwin business owner has labelled the council a “bunch of numbnuts”, calling the local government ineffective at dealing with the issue of itinerants.
Cafe 21 owner Jenny Um said she was so sick of Darwin council and the NT Government doing nothing that it was time for businesses to take the issue into their own hands.
“What really frustrates me is that I’ve spoken with (Chief Minister) Michael Gunner about this already and I’ve talked to (Lord Mayor) Kon Vatskalis, but nothing happens,” she said.
“Why are they spending thousands of our dollars, our taxpayer money, going interstate and overseas trying to lure foreign investment to Darwin when they can’t even manage a simple housekeep- ing issue? I just don’t understand, given the resources they have, that they can’t keep that under control.
“To be honest, it gets to a point where I don’t even bother ringing the council.
“They’re a bunch numbnuts.”
Ms Um said she had considered teaming up with other retailers in the Smith St Mall to hire private security to patrol the area. of
“I’d be happy to chip in for a patrol officer during the business hours, just one person who could keep them away,” she said.
Ms Um’s complaints come after the NT News revealed yesterday that Fishing and Outdoor World had been forced to wait a week for council workers to clean faeces off the footpath in front of the business.
Darwin council said it had cleaned up the mess the day the report was lodged, however when the NT News visited the business five days later, the faeces was still there.
Ms Um said her staff often arrived on site in the morning to deal with mess left behind by itinerants.
However, she said her biggest problem was stopping them harassing her customers.
“They pinch food off people’s tables while they’re still eating,” she said. “It gets to a point where we need to take physical action and push them along.
“And then the tourists and some local people think we’re big racist arseholes, but they don’t understand the implication it is having on us as business owners.
“It’s not about skin colour, it’s about being a decent human and behaving in an acceptable way.”