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DO YOU GET TO KEEP YOUR OWN SUIT?

No. They're washed every week, though - more in the summer. You do get a fresh suit more often than not. They're washed on Mondays, so by Sunday it's not the best.

WHERE DOES THE MONEY GO?

It goes to the Wilderness Society, and most of the work is in forestry. The bulk of the Society's Victorian division's work these days is in East Gippsland, and there are no koalas in East Gippsland, because it's rainforest. If it was legally defined as rainforest they wouldn't be allowed to log it, but there's this definition which says anything with a single eucalypt in it isn't rainforest. You can have stacks of rainforest and one eucalypt, and it's all fair game. Technically, since most of the Society's work is in rainforests, it should perhaps be a long-footed potoroo instead of a koala...

BUT WOULD ANYONE RECOGNISE A LONG-FOOTED POTOROO?

Some people don't recognise the koala! You'd be amazed what people call me.

IT'S THE DROOPY HEAD, I'M TELLING YOU!

I've been called dog, rat, someone called me an elephant, rabbits... Apparently in the early days they road-tested different animals, and koalas brought in the most money.

I READ RECENTLY THAT A SURVEY WAS TAKEN WHICH ASKED PEOPLE IF THEY WOULD COME TO AUSTRALIA IF THEY COULDN'T SEE THE KOALAS, AND TEN PER CENT OF PEOPLE SAID 'NO'.

They've calculated that if koalas became extinct, it would cost Australia 1.1 billion dollars in lost revenue.

WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR ASPIRING KOALAS?

Oh, just call the office. In winter, more people seem to want to do it than in summer. There used to be a huge waiting list, but if you know a koala already, and someone recommends you, they're more likely to give you a go.

YOU'D RECOMMEND BECOMING A KOALA?

I think it's something worthwhile doing. At least a few times. For the first eighteen months, I really enjoyed it, but after that it started to drag a bit.

WHAT SORT OF LONG-TERM IMPACT DO YOU THINK THE JOB HAS HAD ON YOU?

I think it's helped me in the other performance work I've done. And friends always make jokes about me whenever they see photos of koalas...

The Wilderness Society Australia's web site is at www.wilderness.org.au. Stephen Luntz now works for Australasian Science, whose web site is at www.control.com.au.

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