The politicians and policy wonks in Canberra did not know what to make of Natasha Ludowyk and Dr Megan Good on their one-day foray into the nation's corridors of power.
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Neither of the Ballarat mums, who connected on a local mothers' Facebook group, had ever been to Parliament House until a brief but eventful visit last week.
Fuelled by despair as the devastating fire season unfolded, they - along with another Ballarat mother Dr Jessica Cadwallader - decided they had to act.
Ms Ludowyk suggested a Canberra visit to ask politicians to tell their children directly what they were doing to fight climate change.
"We're the sort of people who buy bamboo toothbrushes and put solar panels on the roof," Ms Ludowyk said. "And you know it's not sufficient. It just brought home that no matter what individual choices I make, that's not going to protect my kids.
"The only thing that's going to protect our kids is if our leaders take this seriously and work in a bipartisan way and get off their arses.
"We have to make them listen to us, we've got to just go up and get in their faces."
After scrambled preparations - with Dr Cadwallader unable to go due to her two-year-old falling ill - they soon found themselves talking to advisers, senators and MPs in Parliament House.
Politicians began by treating them like they were lobbyists, asking what organisations they were with, their political alignment, and their policy requests.
"We were saying: 'We're just some really pissed off mums who want you to listen to us'.
"They sat up a bit and went 'what?'. It was really a bit new."
They managed to speak to four MPs and two senators, as well as advisers to both Prime Minister Scott Morrison and the leader of the opposition, Anthony Albanese, about climate change.
Armed with placards of their children and the hashtag #youtellourkids, they asked politicians what they were doing for future generations, and to keep children front of mind when designing policy and legislation.
They also asked them to make a video statement for their children and posted the recordings to Facebook.
Today, they will visit local federal representative Catherine King - who they saw in Canberra - along with other mothers who were unable to go to the capital city.
They have already asked searching questions about the Labor Party's attitude to coal mining and donations from fossil fuel companies.
Ms Ludowyk said accepting Labor's action on climate change was impossible given the party's current stance. "It's like getting smoking advice from a doctor taking tobacco money. You just wouldn't do it.
"We understand the politics of it but we're not part of the political classes. Don't ask us to be invested in your chances of re-election.
"Do your jobs now. How are you advocating with your colleagues? How are you engaging with other cross-benches who are more sympathetic?
"I care less about your re-election in three years' time and more about what's happening now."
Ms King, who recorded a message for the campaign last week, is likely to face questions today about the detail of Labor's energy policy.
Meanwhile, politicians who did not meet the mums in Canberra take note: they are still coming for you.
They may be busy working mothers, balancing childcare and jobs, and squeezing this new campaign into the cracks. But they won't let that hold them back.
"It was a start. We weren't quite sure how we were going to go," Ms Ludowyk says of their first journey to Parliament House.
Now, they are hoping their spontaneous campaign will grow.
A new Facebook group is suggesting ways parents across Australia, regardless of background or political affiliation, can take action and get the message to the people who matter in Canberra.
Ms Ludowyk said: "Our hope is to get to all politicians... I have to show my kids I did everything I could."
- For more information, see: https://www.facebook.com/Youtellourkids