Don’t mess around, it’s serious

MY strong view is that the City of Casey deserves all round community support for its push to eradicate graffiti.
Casey last week decided to upgrade its already successful war against graffiti to pressure higher levels of government to provide more than a token effort against this inexplicable blight on society (See Page 9).
The fact that governments allow it to continue is just as inexplicable as the act of daubing idiotic hieroglyphics on buildings and public fixtures.
Casey has started a costly business, but few people, if any, have voiced objection to its efforts to send these vandals packing.
The idea of cleaning the mess away within a few hours of it appearing is said to have the effect of making the vandals move on, but this is not always the case.
We are seeing it reappear in a type of catandmouse game of catch me if you can and it still has to be cleaned off again and again.
Education in schools has had a positive impact, but unless a more proactive policy is adopted to catch the vandals and force them to pay compensation or clean away the stuff, it will continue.
I spent a few days in Singapore where there is a draconian policy against graffiti and littering and not a spot of graffiti was to be seen in the main city area.
This is a policy that the Singaporean people are proud of, so why can’t we have clean cities in Australia?
Edrington Ward councillor Brian Hetherton raised the issue of extensive graffiti along the rail corridor and the council suddenly realised that the fight is larger than it first seemed.
The argument of who is responsible for cleaning this lot away has left the council with the knowledge that the state and federal governments have a cop out because the daubing appears on private buildings along the rail corridor.
Most people are proud of their hometowns and it goes without saying that they become angry when they see idiots deface their environment with immunity.
It is a pity that both upper levels of government cannot find in their hearts a little more pride in their country and a lot more support for councils such as the City of Casey that are prepared to lead the way in this horrid mess.
The fact that people in high places don’t seem to care, least of all senior government officials, is a social tragedy.
Evidence is emerging that the vandals are in the older age group and consist of a small minority of people in adult age.
They are, however, able to create havoc because they have no opposition to what they do with the result that only a few hoodlums create enormous damage.
They can be stopped in their tracks.
River Gum Ward councillor Wayne Smith said an example of what could be done was evident when the State Government cleaned graffiti off Melbourne walls for the Commonwealth Games.
But he said this was a token effort by the government and the graffiti had returned.
The Government will continue its efforts to stop graffiti only if it is pressured to do so. More is the pity.
Casey plans to hold a graffiti summit of Victoria’s 78 mayors to discus a joint approach in stopping graffiti.
Hopefully, this will generate the appropriate pressure.