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Sydney graffiti 'worse than ever'

Seven News can reveal that Sydney's graffiti plague is spreading, with politicians and the courts coming under fire for failing to stop it.

Sydney Council says there has been a 30 percent rise in graffiti across the city in just one year.

It comes amid claims that vandals are escaping justice as promised new laws remain in limbo.

Peter McLean from Keep Australia Beautiful says that the issue isn’t being taken serious enough.

“The message from the courts is a slap on the wrist,” McLean says.

The number of graffiti cleanups has fallen dramatically, while the area covered in graffiti and posters has jumped from 57,000 square metres to 73,000.

Director of City Operations Garry Harding says that’s enough to cover nearly eleven football fields.

"That [area] has increased marginally over the last year, and we put that down to the posters. They seem to be growing in size," Harding says.

The City spends more than $2 million dollars a year removing graffiti but the Council also encourages it by promoting so-called "street art".

But Peter McLean from Keep Australia Beautiful says graffiti isn’t art when it’s on someone’s front fence.