Brisbane City Council spends millions of dollars a year cleaning up graffiti but today the Lord Mayor was out promoting the up-side of legal street art.

It’s part of an initiative simply called Graffiti Stop.

Bernard Thompson reports.

TRANSCRIPT

This is Ferny Grove Skate Park but the Lord Mayor wasn’t getting any air, instead he came here to inspect 850 square meters of impressive legal graffiti.

And local skaters didn’t waste any time christening their new look park.

The Skateboarding Association hopes this would help improve the sport’s public image.

Scott Shearer, Skateboarding Association: “People hopefully will start to look at it in a different light, oh that isn’t so bad after all and start bringing their kids down.”

Despite the street art-inspired mural the Lord Mayor was quick to illustrate his stand against illegal graffiti.

Graham Quirk, Lord Mayor: “We see that as an illegal act, as an act of vandalism, as an act against our city.”

The Lord Mayor says under his tenure more people had been convicted than ever before.

And reports of graffiti have fallen to a new low.

The mural designer, however, hopes this may spur further legal street art.

Lucks, Graffiti artist: “If it’s sort of wanted, if this is successful in the eyes of the user and community, I’d like to look at it.”

City Council may have become more accepting of legal graffiti, but the war on illegal graffiti is far from over and it is a war Lord Mayor Quirk believes his office is winning.

Bernard Thompson, QUT News.