Competing with the Falun Gong and an anti-abortion rally on the lawns in front of Parliament House on Wednesday three deceptively affable “rats” gathered with Deborah Tabart, chair of the Australian Koala Foundation to announce the Koala Army’s March on September 1.

Australian people needed to understand that the koala is endangered, Tabart, told those present, referring to the fate of the Tasmanian tiger and other mammals.

Tabart said we could agree that koalas were iconic, cute and don’t trample on crops, but bureaucrats, local mayors and politicians were all in the thrall of industry, so the foundation’s only option, she believed, was to tell the story of the koalas in what she called “a most theatrical way.”

The rats on hand, Prudence, Tony, and Stuart, were there to create a bit of mischief; for mischief, we heard, is the collective term for a group of rats.

But benign as they seemed over lunch, the three were in fact satirical representations of the real bureaucrats and politicians who stand in the way of action needed.

“The Mischief Members are the single biggest roadblocks to saving the Koala, so I thought it was about time I introduced them to the people of Australia,” Tabart said, adding, “I’ve sent letters to 15 environment ministers… today, I’m having lunch with some rodents out in the open, instead of them hiding behind closed doors, nibbling away at democracy.”

The Koala Army’s March for Creatures Great and Small, Kings Park to Parliament House, September 1.