CoalMo statue installed at Gardens

AN environmental activist group installed a coal bust of Prime Minister Scott Morrison at the Ballarat Botanical Gardens on Monday before it was removed by staff a few hours later.

The statue was added to Prime Minister’s Avenue by activist group ROUSER, in an attempt to get voters thinking about what it describes as Federal Government inaction on climate change ahead of this Saturday’s election.

The piece, titled CoalMo, was modelled off the famous 2017 moment Mr Morrison, then treasurer, brought a piece of coal into parliament.

ROUSER creative director Rob Beamish said the bust was made to symbolise the Prime Minister’s support for the coal industry.

“For us, CoalMo is an idea about bringing in one single, striking image the Morrison Government’s clear obsession with propping up the coal industry at all costs,” he said.

“We think Morrison and the Morrison Government’s legacy will be one that really does speak for coal and that’s going to have a massive impact for many generations to come.”

The statue was installed at 8am but removed at about 12pm.

“The piece was really designed to land in Ballarat amongst the other bronzes of former PMs because it’s that juxtaposition of bronze and granite busts of former PMs versus this coal bust that really lands the point most strongly,” Mr Beamish said.

The statue was made in collaboration with political activist group GetUp! and has previously travelled around Melbourne.

With climate change remaining a major issue in the lead up to the polls, Mr Beamish said there was generally strong support for the piece.

“There is so much conversation now around this that I think it’s pretty hard to argue with it,” he said.