Page 2264 - Week 09 - Tuesday, 15 September 1992
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GRAFFITI
Discussion of Matter of Public Importance
MADAM SPEAKER: I have received letters from Mr Stevenson and Ms Szuty proposing that matters of public importance be submitted to the Assembly for discussion. In accordance with standing order 79, I have determined that the matter proposed by Ms Szuty be submitted to the Assembly, namely:
The need for graffiti to be recognised as a legitimate form of artistic expression and communication which has an important place in the lives of members of the Canberra community.
MS SZUTY (3.40): Madam Speaker, I have brought this issue before the Assembly for debate as a means of clarifying the real issues about graffiti. At this point I foreshadow that at the conclusion of this debate I shall seek leave to move a motion calling on the Government to assist in identifying more space for graffiti art in Canberra, along major thoroughfares and in places where people congregate.
During the early sittings of this Second ACT Legislative Assembly, I have noted that several questions without notice have been asked concerning the removal of graffiti as an offending additional item on some of Canberra's public buildings and signs. What we have missed here is a chance to recognise the real nature of communications between young people and from young people to the conservative, employed and reactionary forces in the society in which we live.
What is graffiti? The dictionary says that it is a drawing or words written on walls. Graffiti fulfils a number of functions in a democratic society. For example, it is a means of direct communication, where a simple message is given without decoration but often with some embellishment. Indeed, the opposition spokesperson on police matters, Mr Humphries, especially as a law graduate, must have seen some of the more esoteric of these scribblings during his years at university, as indeed I and others have also.
Another function graffiti fulfils is the legitimate challenge to authority - the "Madonna Rules OK", "No Nukes" and "No Dams" types that have been around for some time. In romantic tales we hear of initials carved on trees inside a heart, a phenomenon that would now be regarded as environmental vandalism and punished accordingly. One of my favourite pieces of information from folklore is that when Pompeii was unearthed they found graffiti scribbled on the walls of the equivalent of the Colosseum. It may be just a tale, but it is one that I think is worth telling. One of Michelangelo's most celebrated pieces of art in Rome is a cartoon on the wall of his favourite restaurant, a story which all guides in Rome tell and one which shows that graffiti can eventually come to be regarded as a masterpiece.
This brings me to the discussion of another broad function category, that of graffiti art. For those of us who grew up in a State with a public rail system, graffiti art was a common enough sight. Some people regard it as vandalism, and under ACT law it is an offence under the Crimes Act. But what is the crime being committed, particularly when the work involved is often bright and colourful and conveys a meaning to its audience? Many commuters travelling on the Sydney branch lines keep an eye out for changes to particular walls, as others keep an eye on changes to cinema billboards. It is an indication of what is happening with the culture of our young people.
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