There's a rat in the ranks.
And now there'll be one at Tanya Plibersek's home.
The deputy opposition leader fell foul to a Chaser prank on Thursday when a woman approached her during a campaign visit to the Sydney fish markets with Bill Shorten.
"Can you hold my rat while I take a phone call?" the mystery woman asked.
Ms Plibersek was happy to cuddle the rodent, before it dawned on her she would now be its owner.
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
"She just disappeared," she told reporters.
As Chas from the prank group Chaser watched on, Ms Plibersek took it in her stride, vowing to hold a Twitter competition to find the pet a name.
She's promised #electionrat as the hashtag.
The fish markets ban animals from being on the premises.
It was the second hiccup in the opposition leader's morning in Sydney, after the team arrived to find a group of workers had mounted a sign saying "vote Libs".
Earlier this week, Malcolm Turnbull patted a rat called Splinter during a street walk in Western Sydney.
