For those who are sick of seeing unsightly graffiti in our suburbs, one local council has decided it has had enough.
The City of Canning will be doing more to address the amount of graffiti lingering in its suburbs following a successful motion put forward by Bannister Ward Councillor Ben Kunze.
The Addressing Graffiti motion, which was unanimously supported by council at its March ordinary council meeting, called on the chief executive officer to conduct a review of Canning’s anti-graffiti program, including the policies, investment and resourcing, and report back on any changes through the 24/25 Budget to improve the level of service and ensure good visual amenity throughout the City of Canning.
Cr Kunze said that local residents were tired of the seeing graffiti across the suburbs, which reflected poorly on the community.
“Graffiti is a significant issue that extends outside of the City of Canning, and police statistics show that reported graffiti vandalism has been on the rise in recent years,” Cr Kunze said.
“We need to do all we can to remove graffiti as quickly as possible, in line with the recommendations of the State Graffiti Taskforce, to reduce the number of people who see the graffiti and therefore diminish the appeal for the vandals to do it again.
“Regrettably as motorists have driven along Leach Highway through Canning over the past year, it’s been hard to avoid seeing graffiti marking many fences.
“This reflects poorly on the City of Canning and it’s not something people should regularly see as they drive through.
“We invest considerable funding into improving public realm, including on landscaping, planting trees, and installing public art – we shouldn’t allow vandals to dimmish the visual appeal of our streets by allowing their graffiti to remain in place.”
Responsibility for removing graffiti resides with the property owner.
The City of Canning is responsible for removing graffiti on its property, such as in parks and on public buildings.
The relevant graffiti along Leach Highway is the responsibility of Main Roads WA.
Other relevant stakeholders include the Water Corporation, Western Power and private property owners.
A report will now be prepared for council’s consideration outlining steps that the City of Canning can take to promptly remove graffiti from its property, and also ensure processes are in place to report graffiti on other stakeholders’ property for removal.
