Darebin Council urged to fix broken graffiti-reporting system after Jewish hate tags linger

After reporting anti-Jewish graffiti on a café wall in Darebin, resident Natalie James spent half a year trying to secure its removal, claiming the council’s reporting channels either blocked or diverted her complaints. The graffiti, which included “F--- Israel” and a crossed-out Star of David, appeared shortly after the Bondi Beach terror attack and remained until late June. Council general manager Rachel Ollivier explained that the security system can filter emails and that the Snap, Send, Solve app may route reports about assets owned by other government bodies away from council staff.

She added that some technical flaws have been identified and corrected. Councillor Connie Boglis tabled a petition, signed by 13 people, urging a review of the 2019 graffiti-removal strategy, a publicly advertised reporting method, and guaranteed response times. The council referred the petition to its CEO for consideration, noting the high priority of offensive graffiti removal for community wellbeing.