Cafe faces fine by council after being targeted by vandals

The owner of a Brisbane coffee shop claims her local council is unfairly threatening to fine her after vandals graffitied the heritage-listed building she works from.

"Why do I get penalised for someone else damaging my property?" cafe owner Penny Panorea told A Current Affair.

Panorea claims over the years she's spent thousands of dollars continuously trying to clean graffiti off the walls, only for it to appear again the next day.

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"It's sheer vandalism and it's wrong and it's time that council took charge," Panorea said.

The heritage-listed building, which is home to cafe Five Sisters, is located in Brisbane's cultural and food hub, West End.

But Panorea said the problem is that her cafe keeps being used as a canvas for criminals.

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"We look grungy and dirty and it takes away from our business," she said.

Panorea has owned the cafe since 2004 and said since then, vandals have been relentless.

"The graffiti is non-stop. It just won't stop," Panorea said.

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Cafe worker Andy Compagoni has had to clean the graffiti off the wall time and time again.

"You clean it off, the next night they come back and do the same thing again," Compagoni said.

But the latest graffiti left on the cafe walls isn't coming off this time and now the Brisbane City Council is going after Panorea over it.

She was sent a notice threatening to fine her.

"They've given us 15 days to clean it off otherwise you get fined," Panorea said.

"Instead of giving these people a fine … I cop the fine. That's unjust.

"They know it's vandalism."

Panorea has been documenting the rigorous cleaning process and despite almost daily attempts, none of her staff have been able to remove the latest mess.

While Brisbane City Council has provided the cafe with graffiti removal products, the cafe owner said it's not working.

One of the biggest problems Panorea faces is that CCTV installed in the cafe and other nearby buildings hasn't been able to capture clear footage identifying the perpetrators.

She has been asking the council to install cameras on the street since 2004, but claims her requests over the years have been ignored.

Dr Andrea Perdis, who runs a dental practice in a neighbouring building, is also at her wit's end.

She was shocked to learn that the cafe business next door faces a fine and feels like it's a slap in the face.

"Instead of the council stepping in and helping us and doing something to clean the environment, they're fining the business owners. We've got enough problems," Perdis said.

The doctor also wants the council to keep the area under surveillance.

"If the council was in charge and the police (were) in charge of monitoring, we might be catching them instead of relying on the business owner to do all that," Perdis said.

In a statement to A Current Affair, Brisbane City Council Councillor Kim Marx said: "Like the rest of Queensland, Brisbane is in the grip of a youth crime crisis and cameras won't stop these brazen crooks.

"The State Government's soft on crime approach has failed and what's needed is new stronger laws so residents and business owners feel safe."

Statement by Civic Cabinet Chair for City Standards Councillor Kim Marx:

Penny's frustrations with vandalism are totally understandable and we also don't want to see Brisbane's buildings and public property defaced.

However, like the rest of Queensland, Brisbane is in the grip of a youth crime crisis, and cameras won't stop these brazen crooks.

The State Government's soft on crime approach has failed and what's needed is new stronger laws so residents and business owners feel safe.