Graffiti wars
Wednesday, 14 September 2005

Reporter: Florenz Ronn


From a 774 listener:
A solution for Mr. Doyle and his freeway tolls AND Premier Bracks in his need to get rid of unwanted graffiti for C/Wealth Games: Rent a space to graffiti artists on the sound buffers of new freeway beyond Springvale Road. It NEEDS covering (it could not look any worse) and this way if there is any graffiti that is not 'up to standard', the artist will be known, and can be prosecuted (more money!!!!) AND there will be funds from rental for the freeway and we won't have to pay tolls, or look at unsightly buffers. AND all our international visitors will think how creative/artistic we are, and what a lateral thinking Government we have.

The City of Melbourne is to be asked to consider a new strategy to deal with, what’s described as, an epidemic of graffiti in central Melbourne.

Cr Peter Clarke, who is leading the charge, told 774’s Jon Faine: "I think council needs the legal power to be able to get in and remove it. Part of the problem that it currently confronts is, that it’s on a State Government owned assets and we’ve got no right to come in and remove it and the State Government does nothing. The other problem we’ve got is on private property where we’ve got no right to enter, or access or remove it off the side of a building. So we need some local laws, in fact probably some state legislation, which enables us to get in and fix up what has become an epidemic around Melbourne".

Asked as to how this would work, Cr Peter Clarke responded: "We would have a hotline number, where people can report in and say to us ‘there’s some graffiti on my wall’ or ‘I saw it being put on under an underpass somewhere’ and we can have a group that can come in and remove that in an instant". Cost sharing between State Government, Council and business is proposed as a funding measure.

But the Melbourne City Council is not the only one suffering from activities of graffiti artists. Kingston Council, in the south-east of Melbourne, has almost completed its municipal wide one-off clean up program targeting old and high profile graffiti in park lands, shopping precincts, and frequently used public laneways. Graffiti removal on Council owned buildings and facilities is considered a priority and is removed within 24 hours of it being reported.

To the east of Melbourne, Maroondah City Council is taking a community approach to the problem. Depot teams undertake a number of tasks to ensure their City is a clean and attractive place to live, work, and play, making sure we give our visitors a good 'first impression'. Councillor Joe Cossari encourages everyone who lives in this City to lend a hand and enjoy a sense of pride about the way it looks.

"Residents and shop owners can do their bit to help by trimming any trees along their fence lines, sweeping up leaves and litter, and removing graffiti from their front fences or walls," said Cr Cossari. "Removing graffiti quickly means that the people who do the graffiti do not get the kudos for it. The longer the graffiti is up and seen by the public, the happier a graffiti artist is. If it’s painted over or removed, it defeats the purpose for the person doing the graffiti".

Cr Cossari said Council had a number of preventative measures in place to combat graffiti. "The program is not just about cleaning up the graffiti – it’s about stopping the graffiti happening in the first place. We’re looking at ways to assist businesses to cut graffiti near their premises. For example, we encourage business owners to grow creeping plants over bare walls or install extra lighting so they deter offenders from scrawling over the walls."

Bayside City Council is looking into the future. It has written to the Office of Film and Literature Classification and Federal Government calling for a ban on the release of a new computer game that encourages people to do graffiti and shows how to evade being caught undertaking this illegal activity. Bayside Mayor Councillor Craig Tucker said the computer game was irresponsible as depicted high-risk behaviour and encouraged illegal acts.

Research shows that graffiti impacts people’s perception of safety and how people value their neighbourhood. Council is concerned that the game may increase the incidence of graffiti and therefore have a negative impact on the Bayside community.

"Graffiti is an ongoing problem and not an easy one to control or eradicate. Council is about to consider a Graffiti Management Strategy that aims to prevent, educate and create awareness of graffiti," Cr Tucker said.