The consensus among those in the know is that next year’s federal election will be won and lost on the issue of climate change.

But if Pat Mullins has his way, those people will be wrong … the election will come down to the issue of animals.

A resident of the small Western Australian town of Coolgardie, about 30 minutes west of Kalgoorlie, Mullins is living proof that in a town of 800 people it only takes one to make a difference.

At the height of the gold rush, Coolgardie was the third biggest city in WA, a place where people came to make their fortunes.

Those days are long gone.

Now it is basically a quick drinks and toilet stop for people travelling between Kalgoorlie and Perth.

Most of the buildings on the main street are owned by Mullins, who has been lovingly restoring them for the past 10 years as part of his campaign to put Coolgardie back on the map.

But his loyalties do not lie with Coolgardie alone; Mullins  said he also feels a strong connection with the animal kingdom and wants everybody to know it.

“I have decided to run for the senate in 2010 to bring animals back on the agenda,” he said.

“Not really animal rights or anything, just a general love of animals.

“Everybody loves animals, alligators, cats, camels, orang-utans, whales … I love them all.

“If a party like Family First can get in there, why not a party about animals?”

Last Friday, he received the paperwork that will set in motion the plan he hopes will put Coolgardie, and animals, back on the map.

“I just love animals,” he said.

“A lot of animals are dying out now, that’s something we can deal with.

“People are all getting worried about climate change, I don’t weigh into that, for all I care we can be underwater in 50 years, but what happens to these lovely creatures in the meantime?”

And before you write off his chances, you should know this is not Mullins’ first foray into the political arena.

A former British lord mayor and more recently secretary of the WA Democrats, Mullins has more than one trick up his sleeve.

Given the fact he will do the majority of his campaigning in O’Connor, an electorate that has kept Wilson Tuckey in parliament since the dark ages, you have to think he has a chance.

“Don’t you worry, I’ll get in,” he said.

“People will know about what I’m campaigning for and on election day we’ll have donkeys and dogs handing out how-to-vote cards, just to make sure.”

So when you go to mark the ballot next year, think about The Animal Party,  because Mullins promises to keep the baa-stards honest.