Substation gets graffiti clean-up

By Lia Bichel
Telstra spokeswoman Jane Oakley said vandals wrote offensive words on the graffiti-ridden substation, causing Telstra Property Services to take immediate action.
“We find if we just clean it, graffiti occurs again,” she said. “But we have a zero-tolerance policy for offensive language written on property, so it was cleaned.”
Since September, Telstra and the City of Casey have debated who has responsibility for cleaning the substation.
Mayfield Ward councillor Steve Beardon said the building was an eyesore and he had tried to persuade Telstra to clean it up.
Ms Oakley said Telstra staff would create a community mural on the walls to deter vandalism. But, this would be unsuccessful, Cr Beardon said, as there was a zero-graffiti policy in the City of Casey.
Telstra then agreed to work with council, community groups and Graffiti Hurts Australia to clean the station. Graffiti Hurts Australia is a not-for-profit company that organises for murals on boards to be mounted on buildings to avoid damaging infrastructure.
Cr Beardon said he was pleased the building was now clean. “It’s just too bad it wasn’t done 12 months ago,” he said.
Graffiti is a continuing problem across the municipality, costing council thousands of dollars each year. In one case, council ordered a vandal to pay $20,000 in fines for spray painting Connex rail property.
“We will catch vandals and take them to court. We have before and we will do it again,” Cr Beardon said.
“We are dead serious about this, and we don’t muck around. There will be no slaps on the wrist. If you commit the crime, you will do the time; if you spray, you will pay.”