Constable Kenny Koala has been working out over summer and is looking like a new koala! Do you like his spiffy new jacket and cap? Kenny is a much loved community liason officer with the Australian Federal Police, and has been educating children in Canberra on a range of crime prevention and child safety messages for the last 25 years or more.

Friends travelling through Sydney on election day said they had seen a number of ‘lying rodents’ outside polling booths. While I’ve seen a number on the TV news, its hard to find pictures of them online. Ambit Gambit has one – I’m guessing from the text that its Chas from The Chaser – but if you know of any others, I’d be interested.

In The Chaser’s latest series, The Chaser Decides, did you notice the blurry satirical rendition of the Abu Ghraib atrocities going on in the election tally-room backdrop behind them? In the local ACT election coverage a week ago, it was funny to see Freeda, the Free Range Canberra chook mascot making the most of that backdrop space, too. She positioned herself very visibly in the crowd milling behind the commentators, and then appeared to have a lot of fun jumping and waving to the cameras, and enthusiastically blowing kisses to us as the credits rolled at the end of the night. Free Range Canberra is a campaign and a registered political party that aims to ban the production of battery eggs in the ACT, and encourage consumers to buy free range eggs. Freeda was also pictured in the Canberra Times casting her vote, and she features in a nice Abbey Road cover spoof, the chicken ‘crossing the road to get elected’, on World Egg Day 8 Oct 2004.

Meanwhile, PETA, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, who were behind Lucy, the large sheep puppet that hugged Howard and Latham during the federal election campaign, trying to bring attention to their cause of stopping the live sheep export trade, have managed to persuade the American fashion chain Abercrombie and Fitch to ban the use of Australian-produced wool in its clothing.

Speaking of large mascots, I met Constable Kip Koala, Kenny Koala’s new friend the other day ;-). As a kid – and maybe even now! – I would have run a mile from any of these big creatures, but the kids at the family day seemed to love him.

I’ve also noticed that the National Heart Foundation Australia now has a big red heart mascot.

For instance, back in March, Kenny and his mate Stewart Waters celebrated Harmony Day by skydiving into Turner Oval, providing some excitement for the kids who up until his descent had been having a great deal of fun bopping each other on the head with blow-up plastic mallets courtesy of the Bunnings show bags that were being distributed.

This week 500 teddy-version Kenny Koalas are being airlifted to Beslan, to be given to the children who survived the school hostage massacre.

‘AFP Commissioner Mick Keelty said it was hoped the Kenny Koala Bears, which have been popular with generations of Canberra children, would provide some comfort to children affected by the tragedy.’

The Chequered Ribbon Association, the AFP charity which is organizing the gift, usually sells the Kenny Koala bears as a collectable limited edition toy for fundraising. They are ‘about 25cm in height and is dressed in an AFP uniform with a white peak cap.’

The CRA is asking for donations to help with financing the airlift, and to help with the fundraising there will be an auction at the Canberra Services Club (on Canberra Avenue in Manuka, next to the Manuka Oval) tomorrow, Thursday 16th September 2004 – 6pm for 7pm start. A single numbered Constable Kenny Koala will be one of the items up for auction. ‘Single numbered koalas are are only offered to the public occassionally, so this is a great opportunity to secure what is becoming highly collectable.’

Oh … and you have to know Kenny’s motto: ‘What do we want? No trouble!’ ;-)