By Frank Coletta for Daily Mail Australia

Published: 19:21 EDT, 26 August 2014 | Updated: 10:00 EDT, 27 August 2014

They're seen as the easy targets during election campaigns by graffiti gangs and have often been the subject of battles between political candidates - but the defacing of election billboards or corflutes, as they are also known, is going to become a costly past-time now in New Zealand.

With less than a month before the NZ election (September 20) some of the Kiwi political parties are getting all high-tech on vandals, installing hidden cameras to monitor their advertising boards.

Police will be provided with the images of anyone caught on camera defacing the corflutes

Corflutes don't come cheap, just one can cost $10.

The New Zealand Herald says that the National party has confirmed that some electioneering teams are already using motion sensor cameras and any act of vandalism or theft is passed onto police. If successfully prosecuted, vandals can be fined or, in the worst cases, face imprisonment.

One Conservative Party member decided to act when he had his boards set alight. Another National Party politician claims more than 100 of his were destroyed in the first weeks of the campaign.

It's not a problem restricted to NZ, of course.

Some graffiti can be fairly basic but others go to great lengths, including going as far as transforming a conservative candidate to resemble an outrageous rock idol

All NZ parties have been targeted. This time Jacinda Ardern's billboard (of the Labour Party) is given a distinct pirate theme

In some Australian states anyone found to have made 'obscene or indecent representations' can face up to seven years in jail.

During the 2012 Queensland elections, then Independent Member for Burnett Rob Messenger was targeted by vandals spraying Nazi symbols on his boards.

Labor's Fowler MP, Chris Hayes, was one of those to have his signage damaged during last year's election campaign, as did his Liberal counterpart, Andrew Nguyen.

Both chose not replace the damaged pieces because of the cost.

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Published by Associated Newspapers Ltd

Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group