Thursday, 28 November 2024

Eltham copper butterfly statue

Aiv PUGLIELLI (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (18:19): (1340) My adjournment matter tonight is to the Premier. I ask you to make a captain’s call for your government to end the feud of the Eltham copper butterfly statue. Let me explain – I have a solution. There shall be two statues, one for Montmorency station and one for Eltham. Two suburbs, both alike in dignity, in Melbourne’s fair north-east where we lay our scene. A statue was promised to the fine people of Montmorency in 2022 as part of the Level Crossing Removal Project, designed and sculpted by Robert Bridgewater specifically for this station. And yet it has instead been installed in neighbouring Eltham, which may be its namesake but is not the promised destination. We should not be pitting suburb against suburb, neighbour against neighbour. Let us all unite around our love of this pretty little – also threatened – butterfly. Two statues, two butterflies, two communities of the Hurstbridge line united. Premier, please, I urge you to step in and commit to two butterfly statues – one in fair Eltham and another in fair Montmorency.