Julie Bishop explains the story behind those pictures of koalas flying first class.

They’re cute, cuddly and kind of a big deal for Australia’s international relations, the Foreign Affairs Minister writes.

It is often remarked how little coverage Australia receives in the international media. Not so when it comes to koala diplomacy!

This year is the 50^th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Australia and Singapore, and the 50^th anniversary of Singapore’s independence.

To mark this auspicious occasion, the Australian Government recently arranged for the loan of four koalas to Singapore Zoo, as an expression of our deep friendship.

Qantas generously supported this initiative and transported the koalas from Brisbane’s Lone Pine Sanctuary free of charge and will fly each week loads of fresh eucalyptus leaves during the 10 month loan.

Singapore Prime Minister Lee and Foreign Minister Shanmugam have expressed their deep appreciation for the gift.

The transport and arrival of the four koalas – Paddle, Chan, Pellita and Idalia – generated an extraordinary amount of media coverage. Almost 200 media outlets covered the story in print and online, reaching millions of people around the globe.

A Qantas photo of a koala seated in ‘koala class’ went viral internationally and was reported in many newspapers and websites around the world. Qantas also reported a reach of some 450,000 people directly through its social media sites.

Channel News Asia ran a 16-minute feature of the opening of the koala enclosure in the Singapore Zoo while BBC World News ran a 4 minute story throughout the day to its global audience and an online story with over 600,000 visits to its webpage.  The Straits Times, Singapore’s major newspaper, had a front page colour photo of the koalas and there has been extensive coverage across Europe, Canada and the US – with the koalas even making the New York Times.

Over twenty thousand Singaporeans have already visited the enclosure and the Zoo expects another 550,000 people to visit the exhibition over the next ten months.

Singapore Zoo is also putting its promotional strengths behind the Koalas, including a Koala microsite, posters in outdoor locations across Singapore, radio spots, a school holidays program and a competition to win a trip to Australia.

Australia and Singapore are warm friends, with shared interests in economic development and we cooperate in education, trade and tourism.

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Importantly, we have similar strategic views and work closely on defence and security issues.

Our two governments also have extensive links through student exchanges, including the New Colombo Plan, the Australian Government’s signature study abroad program.

Australia can build on the goodwill that already exists between our nations through our koala diplomacy to attract more tourists to our shores and build on our standing as one of the world’s great tourism destinations.

The only negative in this otherwise outstanding soft power diplomacy coup was the Federal Labor Opposition’s description of the koala loan as “waste”.

The cost to the Australian taxpayer for the duration of the loan will be approximately $3,300 per month for each koala.

The estimated advertising value to date from global coverage of the koalas is around $4 million.

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The benefits to our nation will be exponentially greater in terms of increased tourism and through the generation of enormous good will towards our country.

In the past, former Labor Prime Ministers John Curtin and Ben Chifley gifted platypus to the United Kingdom and to the United States, recognising the value of our unique fauna in building relationships.

Koala Diplomacy is an initiative of which all Australians, including the Labor Party, should be proud.

What do you think about Koala Diplomacy?

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