Animal welfare
Matthew GUY (Bulleen) (13:55): For my second issue I would like to raise a matter that year 7 student from Blackburn High School Olivia has raised with me around animal cruelty. She said to me that recently on a family holiday to Montenegro she noticed that that country was moving to cat villages, and these villages were saving cats, which had been abandoned, from being euthanised. She put the idea to me, and I said to her that it is a wonderful idea, particularly when matched with increasing penalties for animal cruelty and for abandoning pets, because pets are for life, they are not just for Christmas. I said to Olivia from year 7 at Blackburn High, who is involved with the Manningham United footy club, that it is a wonderful idea and I will raise it in Parliament. She is one of the leaders of the future of our community.