Increasing graffiti destructive: mayor

NARRABRI Shire Council mayor Darrell Tiemens has voiced his concern about increasing graffiti in the district while advocating for improved prevention resources to combat the matter.

In a mayoral minute tabled at last week’s meeting, Cr Tiemens asked general manager Eloise Chaplain to report back to councillors about the council’s current graffiti management practices and opportunities to remove tagging and highly visible damage faster.

Other items the mayor has queried include the use of CCTV at identified graffiti hotspots, advocacy for increased police and crime prevention resources and appropriate community service programs, seeking greater state government action on graffiti prevention, and improved reporting and practical support for businesses and property owners.

“I’m beyond furious as to how destructive that is to a community like ours,” Cr Tiemens told the meeting.

“It’s not unique to Narrabri Shire. It’s something that affects big centres like Dubbo and Tamworth … but also you go to Sydney, you go to Melbourne, wherever you are, you’ve got this degenerate activity.

“It really detracts from the value of our properties. It detracts from our town. It detracts from our little villages.”

Cr Tiemens said the issue of graffiti was broad across the North West region and was not just limited to Narrabri Shire or the Narrabri township.

“Council does have a role under the Graffiti Control Act, and we do have some powers … but it’s not just our responsibility,” he said.

Cr Tiemens said a core part of the motion was to seek opportunities to remove graffiti in a timely manner.

“The quicker you get rid of that, the quicker you clean it up … the better it is for everyone,” Cr Tiemens said.

The mayoral minute was unanimously supported by all councillors.

Cr Ryan Whillas said the issue of graffiti featured across all shire towns.

“CCTV definitely will help,” he said.

“Not only with that … but with other crimes which we’ve seen a little bit of increase at the moment.

“I know that it is a problem all over the state and we aren’t as bad as other towns but we are getting a bit of a problem.

“This is a step in the right direction for keeping the community safe and clean.”

Cr Jocellin Jansson suggested community input through authorised groups which could be provided with paint and would be able to respond to graffiti promptly.

“That would allow us to deal with things in quite a rapid pace,” she said.