Petrol left for sniffers

Some Territory car yards are believed to be allowing easy access to petrol to stop sniffers breaking into vehicles.

One car yard is reportedly leaving petrol in a soft drink bottle to deter would-be thieves from siphoning it out of cars.

And other firms are believed to be leaving petrol caps off cars to prevent break-ins and damage.

The incidents are reported to be occurring at Alice Springs.

Blair McFarland, co-ordinator of the Tangentyere Council’s petrol sniffing control program Central Australian Youth Link Up Service, said it was a growing issue in the town.

He said incidents of people stealing petrol from cars were also increasing.

“It is becoming really common,” he said.

Mr McFarland said he had heard similar stories in remote communities.

“People do leave petrol out for the sniffers – it is either that or the sniffers poke holes in the fuel tank,” he said.

“They were aware they were doing the wrong thing – but not feeling like they had any option.”

It has been reported that the owners of Alice Motor Sales at Alice Springs have been leaving out soft drink containers full of petrol for the past five weeks.

But owner Peter Brooks last night denied they had been put out intentionally.

Some containers – used to top up fuel levels in the carburettor – had been left out accidentally.

Mr Brooks said his used car lot was broken into 270 times last year – often just stealing petrol from the vehicles.

He said many of the break-ins were not reported to the police but it cost him thousand of dollars each year.

“We have got problems but we have increased security, we have increased police patrols,” he said.

“It has been pretty effective – but the problem is still around.”

Mr McFarland said owners of Alice Springs service stations and car yards would soon be approached to develop a co-operative plan to tackle the problem.

He said it would particularly target businesses on the North Stuart Highway, which is near to a town camp.

Mr McFarland said the best way to solve the problem would be make to make Opal – an unsniffable fuel – available at Alice Springs.

“At the moment it is only available to remote communities,” he said.

Newshawk: http://www.napnt.org
Pubdate: Fri, 22 Apr 2005
Source: Northern Territory News (Australia)
Copyright: 2005 Northern Territory News
Contact: ntnmail@ntn.newsltd.com.au
Website: http://ntnews.news.com.au/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/283