A recent call from the City of Casey for the State Government to have a greater focus on the city’s graffiti is not the first of its kind, with a similar campaign being run by the previous council group from 2016-2017.
On 18 April 2017, then-mayor Sam Aziz led a motion for signs to be erected at the Narre Warren-Cranbourne Road overpass to read: “The ugly state of this railway overpass is the responsibility of the State Government”.
While the current campaign has a strong tone, it is formal in comparison to the abrasiveness of Aziz’s tone, with his and the then council’s critical stance of the state government well-known.
Covered by Star News at the time, it was stated that these signs would then instruct readers to contact the three Casey-based state MPs, who were then Luke Donellan, Judith Graley and Jude Perera, and provide their office with phone numbers to “get it fixed”.
More recently, the current Casey mayor, Stefan Koomen, said that the council is committed to having clean, safe, and welcoming public spaces across the city.
“Council is calling for immediate action to remove this graffiti and urges the state government to reconsider its current policy,” he said.
“Council has long upheld a zero-tolerance stance on graffiti to maintain a clean and welcoming environment.”
A Victorian Government spokesperson told Star News that “we do not tolerate vandalism or graffiti and we continue to work closely with Victoria Police to combat this behaviour”.
In context, it was also added that graffiti removal is carried out on a regular basis by the state’s maintenance teams, who conduct periodic inspections of the arterial road network and transport infrastructure.
The Department of Transport and Planning prioritises the removal of any graffiti that is offensive or puts people at risk.
Likewise, earlier in August 2025, Cr Scott Dowling, Cr Kim Ross, and Cr Anthony Walter spoke to residents just below the Berwick Station overpass on Clyde Road, where graffiti is visible on the track barriers.
During this gathering, the current Opposition leader and Berwick MP, Brad Battin, weighed in on the issue, adding that earlier in 2025, he wrote to the Minister for Transport Infrastructure regarding the removal of the graffiti.
While the response he received was not satisfactory according to himself, he said that the delay and prolonged process is a “symbol” from the state that they have “stopped prioritising the protection of public property”.
Former mayor Aziz’s reaction to “shame” the state government followed VicTrack’s refusal to clean up graffiti, with Casey then proposing the bridge wall as advertising space to help fund cleaning, a suggestion that VicTrack declined.
A year prior, in 2016, Aziz publicly criticised VicRoads, as Casey spent around $400,000 a year to remove graffiti locally, while VicRoads only allocated $100,000, statewide, for the same purpose.
He told the Cranbourne Star News then that “the Monash Freeway and the Hallam Bypass, which is the gateway to our city, looks like downtown New York in the 1970s”.
“And here we are working hard to build beautiful neighbourhoods and VicRoads don’t want to lift a finger, even though it’s their responsibility; we won’t stop until it gets fixed,” he said then.
This same effort saw the Clean Up Your Act campaign, which resulted in a $300,00 commitment from the state government (as part of the 2016-2017) Budget, specifically earmarked for graffiti removal along the Monash Freeway.
The more recent motion by Koomen and the rest of the council reflected that for years, the local communities in Casey have voiced their concerns about unsightly graffiti on sound barriers and other state-owned infrastructure, including railway stations.
“The ongoing presence of graffiti on visible state-owned infrastructure continues to frustrate both council and residents,” he said.
