Page 532 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 17 February 2016
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It is important that graffiti is proactively managed. To this end, the government is implementing more preventative and removal measures to manage graffiti across Canberra. This is best illustrated by the appointment of a graffiti coordinator as a dedicated resource to assist in delivering graffiti reduction measures across our city. Ms Emberson was appointed as our new graffiti coordinator less than two weeks ago and will work with the community—artists, residents, businesses, property owners and the broader community—to help manage our graffiti problem.
In accordance with the ACT graffiti management strategy, TAMS takes a holistic approach to the management of graffiti by focusing on five key strategies: prevention, removal, diversion, community awareness and education, and legislation. A major focus this year is to increase the regular inspections of TAMS assets and the rapid removal of graffiti from public property. High visitation places such as town centres, bus routes and toilet blocks are inspected weekly and graffiti is removed within five days—within 24 hours if it is offensive. All other public assets are inspected monthly. You will be pleased to know that graffiti is generally removed from public assets at the time of inspection, or shortly afterwards in instances where the graffiti covers a large area and more specialised equipment is needed.
The statistics we have collected on graffiti incidents on public assets over the past three years indicate a downward trend in graffiti, with an average of 4,600 square metres removed each month in 2013-14, reducing by half to 2,000 square metres each month in 2014-15 and 2015-16. We expect that the level of graffiti will decrease once the new graffiti prevention and management measures are fully implemented.
While TAMS actively removes graffiti from public assets, removal from privately owned property, such as residential fences adjoining public land, is the responsibility of the asset owner. This is consistent with the Common Boundaries Act 1981 and needs to be applied, and is applied, consistently across the ACT. Where graffiti is reported on private assets, TAMS endeavours to contact the building owners and land owners and encourage them to remove the graffiti from their property as soon as it appears. However, the government recognises that this removal is a burden for residents and business owners, and there are often lengthy delays before graffiti is removed, which does detract from the look and feel of our suburbs, particularly on major arterial routes.
To deter graffiti vandalism on residential fences, such as along Hindmarsh Drive in Weston Creek, which Mrs Jones notes, the government has planted shrubs to screen some fences from the roadway in order to improve the public amenity and minimise the public exposure which is often the aim of the vandal. While this was effective in large sections along Hindmarsh Drive, there were a number of areas that could not be screened by shrubs due to the location of underground services and limited planting space. A trial was previously undertaken along Hindmarsh Drive and Kingsford Smith Drive in Belconnen to deter illegal graffiti by painting the residential fences en masse using stencils of palm leaves.
Madame Assistant Speaker, I do hope that people in this place will understand that graffiti vandalism is not something that can be addressed by government alone. It
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