The City of Melbourne is launching an ambitious Clean Melbourne Graffiti Blitz which will run for two weeks starting in the central city on Clean Up Australia Day.
Council is doubling its street cleaning team to combat graffiti, improve public spaces and ensure the city is sparkling as workers, students and visitors return.
The amount of graffiti cleaned every month has increased by more than 60 per cent since the start of the pandemic, from an average of 4,000m2 a month in 2019 to over 6,500 m2 in 2021. Graffiti reporting has also doubled in this time.
The Blitz will see illegal graffiti and tagging removed swiftly across the central city, including Southbank and Docklands, as well as key city entrance points.
The City of Melbourne is partnering with property owners and government agencies, including Australia Post and Yarra Trams, who are also cleaning assets like post boxes, power poles and public transport infrastructure.
A new approach has been implemented to help fast-track graffiti removal from private properties, enabling Council to remove graffiti more swiftly.
Council is also calling on other businesses and property owners to help remove graffiti from their buildings and assets and is encouraging residents and visitors to report graffiti using QR codes located around the city.
After completing a two-week blitz in the central city, the Clean Team will move into other neighbourhoods across the municipality to blitz graffiti over the next four months.
Quotes attributable to Lord Mayor Sally Capp
"We're taking a stand against illegal graffiti and tagging, by more than doubling the capacity of our Rapid Response Clean Team, cutting red tape and encouraging people to report anything unsightly.
"We're proud to take the lead on this important initiative, but we can't do it alone. This Clean Up Australia Day, we're calling on property owners to join us and make our city as welcoming as possible.
"We've made significant investments to revitalise our iconic streets and laneways with large-scale street art and creative installations. The blitz will target only illegal graffiti and tagging, while protecting our much-loved laneway art."
Quotes attributable to Australia Post Head of Community Nicky Tracey
"Australia Post has a strong visual presence in the heart of Melbourne and we're proud to play a part in reviving our famous streetscapes by ensuring 65 of our iconic street posting boxes located throughout the CBD look their best as people get back to enjoying the city."
Quotes attributable to Clean Up Australia chair Pip Kiernan
"We're delighted the City of Melbourne is tackling graffiti and what better time to start than on Clean Up Australia Day which demonstrates the power of local communities coming together!
"Like all clean-up efforts, a collective effort between businesses, community and government can be a winning combination.
