00:00It's beginning to look, and sound, a lot like Christmas in Alice Springs.
00:10But local business owners have a message for shoppers.
00:13Hey, everybody in Alice Springs, get out there, spend a little bit of your money,
00:17whether it's small or large, and if you can, and support the small businesses around here.
00:21Justin Pengilly is encouraging residents to look local first when buying gifts.
00:26You don't need to spend your money with Timu and Sheen all the time,
00:29because they don't contribute to the Australian economy or the local economy.
00:33Lyndall Connell, who runs a wildflower jewellery business, agrees.
00:37Well, it keeps the local economy alive. It keeps local people here.
00:41People who have local businesses are putting a lot of their own blood, sweat and tears into their business.
00:49She says without local sales, her business wouldn't survive, and neither would the town.
00:55So without that support for local businesses in rural or remote towns, they would turn into ghost towns.
01:05Alice Springs retailers have been hit hard by crime in recent years, but there's cautious optimism that business is improving.
01:14People are showing more confidence in wanting to come out because they feel a little bit safer.
01:18Justin says sales have lifted slightly, but there's still a way to go.
01:23Just another reason to buy local this festive season.
01:27This is to Sunday.
01:28All right.
01:33We've been doing something...
01:37We've been doing something well.
01:38How are we doing?
01:39We're getting to see more people in the summer.
01:40We're looking for this place.
01:41We're gonna get on track of the desktop.
01:42Now, let's get to it.
01:43We're looking for some people in the summer.
01:45You might want to see more people in the past.
01:47We're getting to see more people in the summer.
01:48We're dealing with the same people here.
01:49So we're looking for the phone.
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