MORE than $3 million will be spent this financial year cleaning up graffiti across the state but only one offender in the past year has been ordered to remove his graffiti.

It has also been revealed that, up until the middle of last year, police were still charging defendants under old laws which enabled offenders to "get away with" lenient penalties.

According to information provided to Independent MP Dr Bob Such by Attorney-General Michael Atkinson, there were 65 graffiti convictions during 2002.

But a search of court files revealed only one offender – a juvenile brought before a magistrate in Millicent – had been ordered to remove the graffiti.

Mr Atkinson says in the letter that most graffiti is either removed or painted over long before offenders appear in court for sentencing.

Details of the clean-up costs also have been given to Dr Such, who has announced he will move to ensure graffiti vandals are compelled to take part in clean-ups and pay compensation to property owners.

He moved the legislation in the last session of State Parliament but it lapsed because Parliament was prorogued in July.

The biggest clean-up cost is in the Onkaparinga Council area, which has budgeted $400,000 for the current financial year.

Adelaide metropolitan bus contractors will pay out $386,000, TransAdelaide $309,000 and the Salisbury City Council $297,500.

ETSA Utilities expects to pay out $150,000 in cleaning costs while Australia Post will be spending $50,000 just on cleaning graffiti from post boxes.

Adelaide City Council has budgeted $80,000 for the current financial year, although this is down from a peak of $160,000 in 2001-02.

Dr Such said current graffiti laws gave courts the power to order vandals to remove graffiti but it was rarely enforced.

"Under my draft Bill, repeat offenders will be forced to join clean-up teams, removing their own and other graffiti," he said.

Dr Such said he believed the Bill would get support from the Labor Party. It is understood the Liberals are yet to decide a position on it.

Onkaparinga Council community section manager Andrew Aiken said graffiti was a major problem in his council's area, although the council had developed a prevention program which appeared to be working.

An audit of three "hot spot" areas – Flagstaff Hill, Morphett Vale and Seaford – in November and in July showed graffiti on council assets had fallen by 10 per cent but risen by 20 per cent on non-council assets.