A wallaby, a wallaroo and two dingo pups walk into Parliament House.
No, it's not the beginning of an elaborate joke, but the bringing together of political animals of all stripes to highlight the plight of threatened species.
The abundance of fluffiness brought out coalition, Labor, Greens and independent MPs to note Threatened Species Day, marking the date the Tasmanian tiger was declared extinct 79 years ago.
"These beautiful but vulnerable Australian creatures bring everybody together," Environment Minister Greg Hunt told reporters after getting kisses from 10-week-old dingos Kora and Ponto.
Proving Greens and rednecks mix after all, the minor party's environment spokeswoman Larissa Waters cuddled red-necked wallaby Curious George before declaring she hoped Threatened Species Day wouldn't be necessary in the future.
"We sadly have a terrible track record and we urgently need some funding investment to turn that around," she said.
The federal government has a plan to turn around the future for 20 mammals and 20 bird species now under threat by 2020, with $110 million and a threatened species commissioner to follow.
It's also close to announcing the location of five "islands", covering 10 million hectares, where native animals would be protected from feral cats, Mr Hunt revealed.
That move was especially applauded by veterinarian-turned-senator David Leyonhjelm of the Liberal Democrats.
"I'm always a little cynical about furry animals and empty statements. I'm much more interested in practical measures that will save their lives," he said.
His grand plan to boost the lot of threatened native animals is to allow Australians to keep those suitable as pets.
From the reaction of politicians meeting the animals on Monday, the chance to keep one as a fur baby would be eagerly accepted.
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