Graffiti sparks clean-up calls


GRAFFITI ANGER: A Newtown resident says his calls to City Hall to clean up graffiti has fallen on deaf ears.

Wednesday, September 21
KAREN MATTHEWS

KEEP Australia Beautiful Victoria has called on aerosol spray paint suppliers to help in the fight against graffiti.
And while it might have been music to the ears of some, it didn't provide much joy to one Newtown resident who claimed his regular complaints to City Hall about graffiti seemed to have fallen on deaf ears.

The resident, who did not wish to be named, said he had been complaining for six months about a 30 metre stretch of graffiti on a wall bounding Fernleigh and West Fyans streets, Newtown.

``And still nothing has been done,'' he said.

``I own an investment property in the area and I'm finding it hard to rent because of all the obscene language and graffiti on that wall.''

But a spokesperson for the City of Greater Geelong said it had contacted owners of the affected property 12 months ago requesting they remove graffiti on the outside of the building.

``Because the owners were not Geelong-based, city officers began negotiations with the leasing agents to try and work out a solution,'' a city spokesperson said.

``The city subsequently reached an agreement where it would provide some assistance to the agent, so the graffiti could be cleaned up quickly, given the high visibility of the site.''

The spokesperson said the City also expected that contractors would have the graffiti removed by the start of business today.

Meanwhile, Keep Australia Beautiful Victoria has called on retailers to provide lockable storage facilities to minimise shoplifting of spray paint cans.

Other suggestions include a statewide graffiti-reporting hot line, funding graffiti clean-ups and supporting calls for a ban on the sale of aerosol paint to those under 18.

KABV has also called on retailers to support calls for state government agencies, including VicRoads, to clean graffiti off their infrastructure within a day of a repor