More walls, please

Michael Malinowski the 28 year-old owner of Five Six Seven graffiti-product shop in King Street, Newtown, who escaped from a storm water drain in a flash flood that killed two of his friends in January last year, has told a court they were painting in the drain because there was "a lack of legal walls in Sydney."

What? A lack of legal walls? Did I hear that correct? A lack of legal walls? What the . . . How can there be a lack of legal walls?

First of all, what about Malinowski's OWN home? Those walls certainly would be legal, wouldn't it? And if that is not enough to get his rocks rolling, Mr Malinowski can always vandalize his own store. And, and if that runs out, Malinowski could set up a register for graffiti-sympathizers to sign up whereupon Malinowski & co can go and vandalize those sympathizers' homes. There, everyone happy. No, Malinowski and his kind have to pick public property to vandalize. Why? Because the non-permissibility of the act gives them a kick. Legal walls my *bleep*.

Newtown crime manager Detective Inspector Ian Lynch lamented the absence of legislation that would force Malinowski to close the business. "Here is a man who is involved in that sort of art and that type of behaviour, and has pleaded guilty to vandalising private property using products from his own store . . . and yet he is able to continue trading as though it never happened . . . I will let other people decide whether that is right or wrong."

Well, there you go.

On another planet, NSW Premier Nathan Rees has been talking tough lately, threatening to introduce laws to force graffiti offenders to clean up their mess. Let's be serious. This cleaning thingie is so not going to deter anyone. We should stop farting around with these recalcitrants. Hit them where it hurt most. Send them to art school.