Julian Leeser (Berowra, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My electorate is known for having safe, clean, quiet suburbs. It's a great place to raise a family. In recent months I've been contacted by a number of constituents about the growth in graffiti, particularly along Pennant Hills Road, around the Normanhurst shops, and around Yarrara Road and The Esplanade in Pennant Hills and Thornleigh. Graffiti has become more and more of a concern because it is just sitting there for months at a time. If graffiti is on public land, the council will come and clean it up, as long as it is reported. But on private land, that's less the case. That's why I'm establishing a graffiti taskforce, a voluntary group in our community to help us clean up our suburbs and keep it as the beautiful set of suburbs that people know it is.

There's an interesting fact about the reporting of graffiti. Despite these suburbs now being awash with graffiti, the police have said that in the last 12 months only five instances of graffiti have been reported. It's really important that citizens report the graffiti, because that's the best way that police can chase down the tags, upload them to their database and ensure that the people who are engaged in the graffitiing are brought to justice. When graffiti is ignored, it leads to more graffiti and further crime; that's a proven fact. We want to keep our streets safe and clean and we want to keep our suburbs as a great place to raise a family.