The plan, which is to be discussed at a Wagga City Council meeting on Monday night, is a four-year strategy aimed at separating street art from illegal tagging. 

Wagga mother Lisa Vidler, whose son is an avid graffiti artist, told The Daily Advertiser she would love to see a dedicated space where people could express themselves. 

“There needs to be a place where kids especially can go and practice,” Ms Vidler said. 

“Not everyone is good at sport or academics, something like graffiti can see kids showing respect for each others talents.” 

Ms Vidler said she believed a legal graffiti space could help combat illegal tagging and would help others like her 13-year-old son to establish hope for an artistic future. 

“We live in a rural area and should be honing these skills because it can become a tourist attraction,” Ms Vidler said. 

“Graffiti in Melbourne in areas like Hosier Lane feature political statements, it’s about more than just artistic expression.” 

Eastern Riverina Arts executive officer Scott Howie said he applauded Wagga City Council for taking a holistic approach to graffiti management. 

“Graffiti and vandalism is a complex issue and there is no silver bullet fix,” Mr Howie said. 

“Eastern Riverina Arts would be happy to be part of the consultative process exploring the potential for legal ‘spaces’ to reduce vandalism elsewhere.”

While discussing council’s graffiti plan on 2AAA on Thursday morning, radio host Steve Briggs made a comment about putting a tax on graffiti cans to combat vandalism. 

“A tax isn’t fair for those people who are doing the right thing,” Ms Vidler said in response. 

“How do we even know that the tax money would go to clean up costs – how would that be policed?” 

Wagga father and small business owner William Hort, who spends hours per week cleaning up graffiti, said a cans tax along with stronger legislation was an excellent idea. 

Mr Hort said a legal graffiti space could be a positive, given 60 per cent of signs he cleans are soon vandalised again. 

“It might be a good idea to give them somewhere to go,” Mr Hort said.