Lord Mayor Sally Capp planned $5k graffiti trip to Singapore
Melbourne’s Lord Mayor Sally Capp has been forced to defend a $5000 taxpayer-funded trip centred on checking out an Asian city’s graffiti.
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Melbourne’s Lord Mayor Sally Capp has been forced to defend a planned taxpayer-funded trip to Singapore that will centre on its approach to graffiti.
The $5000 jaunt would see Ms Capp fly to the city-state in late July to present at the World Cities Summit, if approved by City of Melbourne councillors.
In response to the feedback Ms Capp labelled the chance to attend the summit as “fantastic”.
“I mean it’s not just about graffiti, it’s a trip that has multiple interests, multiple benefits in things that people are interested to learn about Singapore but also from there representatives from other places,” she said.
“Singapore leads on so many aspects that are relevant to Melbourne. It is about cleanliness and graffiti but it’s also about affordable housing, greener cities, waste and sustainability.”
The Asian city-state is home to some of the world’s strictest laws around littering, jay walking, chewing gum and graffiti with punishments include deportation.
However, some ratepayers have called out the international excursion as unnecessary use of funds.
“It’s an insult to ratepayers, in my opinion,” one local woman told 3AW.
The proposed trip comes months after Ms Capp detailed her plan to clean up vandalism across the city.
“I see it as incredibly anti-social. I feel that our pride in the city is really impacted by taggers,” she said at the time.
“It’s more noticeable when we don’t have streams of people filling the streets, you’re more likely to notice details, or it stands out more I guess.”
Originally published as Lord Mayor Sally Capp planned $5k graffiti trip to Singapore
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