MEDIA RELEASE Barry O'Farrell MP YOU SPRAY YOU PAY

Wednesday 7 April 2010

Barry O'Farrell MP

NSW Opposition Leader AND Shadow Minister for Western Sydney

MEDIA RELEASE YOU SPRAY YOU PAY

NSW LIBS GRAFFITI CRACKDOWN IN LIVERPOOL

Young offenders across NSW face longer time on their 'L' or 'P' plates under a policy to crackdown on graffiti vandals NSW Opposition Leader and Shadow Minister for Western Sydney Barry O'Farrell and Liberal Candidate for Menai Melanie Gibbons said today.

"The NSW Liberals & Nationals are taking a tough approach with graffiti vandals and we make

No apologies for that," Mr O'Farrell said after inspecting graffiti at Holsworthy Train Station with

Allan Dabbagh who leads anti-graffiti group Locals Against Graffiti and Gangs (LAGG).

"Our policy comes after I visited a number of areas, including Moorebank, and met with local

groups such as LAGG to discuss the best ways of addressing the graffiti problem," he said.

"Cancelling a vandal's driver's licence is a great incentive to make offenders think twice about

the consequences of their actions.

"With two thirds of graffiti offenders aged under 18 years and most male, targeting driving

privileges is en effective was to send the message that graffiti vandalism is costly and

unacceptable. "Graffiti costs the community approximately $100 million a year. It imposes a real cost on businesses, individuals and local councils. It also makes families feel less safe and makes our

communities less attractive places to live and visit. "Our plan to tackle graffiti in local communities including Liverpool balances penalties for young people who do the wrong thing and offers positive incentives to break a developing juvenile habit," he said.

The NSW Liberals & Nationals will:

• Require juvenile graffiti vandals to appear before the court for a graffiti offence

• Empower courts to suspend convicted graffiti vandals' drivers licenses or extend the time spent on Learners and Provisional licenses

• Legislate for courts to impose Community Service Orders on offenders to make recompense and clean up the graffiti

• Encourage the formation of voluntary graffiti removal squads in local areas, in partnerships with local government and local communities.

Liberal Candidate for Menai Melanie Gibbons said that this policy would help Liverpool

Council and local police tackle vandalism. "Liverpool Council removed approximately 75 square metres of graffiti each week last year," said Ms Gibbons.

"Graffiti is clearly a serious problem in Liverpool and it must be addressed. "I look forward to working with groups such as Locals Against Graffiti and Gangs, in our effort to remove the graffiti scourge from local communities. "I'll also be forming a local Liberal Graffiti Action team to clean up vandalised sites on 2 May

2010. If anyone wants to join our team please contact me on 0418 212 120," said Ms Gibbons.

Media: Jaymes Boland-Rudder 0413690149