The Northern Hairy Nosed Wombat could go extinct without Australians even noticing because of environmental job cuts, Bill Shorten says.
The Department of Environment and Energy may lose around 60 full-time equivalent staff from its biodiversity and conservation division, expected to be confirmed after next week's budget.
Those staff are the ones who monitor endangered species and the risks they face, the opposition leader said on Friday.
"It's entirely possible because of these cruel cuts that we will actually not even know when species become extinct," he said.
"There's up to 400 Australian animals on the various endangered species lists, including as I understand, the Northern Hairy Nosed Wombat"
A department spokesman told AAP no-one would lose their job but a number of staff would be moved from one department to another area.
"It is wrong to assume that reductions in staffing in one area of the department represents a reduction in the government's efforts to protect and conserve biodiversity," he said.
"How resources are allocated to meet priorities is a matter for the department."
