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"This government
is obsessed with hugging koalas. We’ve had $400,000 which
included (foreign minister) Julie Bishop paying $133,000 to fly
four koalas to Singapore Zoo," opposition minister Pat Conroy
said outside parliament.
"She spent I think it was $130,000 taking diplomats to Western
Australia where they hugged wombats for a change – so at least
they changed up the marsupial."
It was not immediately clear how the figures were reached.
Australia's marsupials, including koalas and kangaroos, are
mammals that mostly carry their young in a pouch and are a major
tourist draw for the country.
The report also flagged the cost of koala hire during the 2014
G20 summit in Brisbane, in which then Prime Minister Tony Abbott
famously threatened to "shirt-front" Russian Prime Minister
Vladimir Putin.
"Tony Abbott ... was talking about shirt-fronting Vladimir
Putin, but in the end he spent $24,000 on letting him hug a
koala."
Shirt-fronting is an Australian sporting term for a tackle.
Abbott was ousted by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in a party
coup in September last year.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade did not immediately
respond to a request for comment.
(Editing by Nick Macfie)
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