Thinking ahead to stop graffiti

MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire Councill will ramp up efforts to stem graffiti vandalism, as unsightly tagging continues to deface public and private buildings across the peninsula. At the end of July, the council will host a graffiti management workshop with stakeholders to identify graffiti issues across the peninsula and discuss mitigating graffiti through creative programs. A council spokesperson said graffiti was already “promptly” removed on shire assets, and the council actively encouraged graffiti to be removed from non-shire assets as soon as possible. For graffiti on non-shire assets the council recommends reporting it to the police, or when on public utilities (for example power poles) it can be reported to the relevant utility owner. Since 2020 the council has launched partnerships with NBN Co, local Aboriginal organisations, and artists to offer creative opportunities to combat graffiti, with research suggesting that public art prevents ongoing graffiti, strengthen community pride, engages young people and improves public places. Several murals in known hot spots at Rosebud, Mornington and Somerville have helped keep the graffiti at bay, and Warner Youth Education is addressing graffiti prevention in schools thanks to a state government grant. This year, in May, the council wrote to NBN Co. Ltd, VicRoads,...