Singapore goes koala crazy

Paddle, Pellita, Idalia and Chan are winning hearts in Singapore.

The foreign affairs department has patted itself on the back for its recent bout of "koala diplomacy" to mark 50 years of diplomatic ties between Australia and Singapore.

A Senate committee heard on Wednesday that 20,000 people have already seen the four marsupials at Singapore's zoo.

An estimated half a million people are expected to visit their enclosure over the next 10 months.

Department spokesman Robert Tranter said the promotional value of the exercise was $4 million in advertising for Australia.

Qantas is regularly delivering the furry critters fresh gum leaves in the absence of eucalyptus trees in Singapore.

Department secretary Peter Varghese flagged Australia was hoping to expand its bilateral relationship later this year with the island city state in the areas of trade, defence and people-to-people links.