Why does Leonardo DiCaprio care so much about Australian wildlife?

Actor Leonardo DiCaprio (centre) has used his platform to highlight the plight of threatened Australian species including (from left) the swift parrot, the koala, the Woylie, the red-tailed black cockatoo and (in the background) the Maugean skate. Composite: Alamy/ getty images

When a fiery parliament debate erupted this week about Tasmania’s salmon industry, support for the endangered fish at the centre of the fight – the Maugean skate – came from an unlikely corner.

Hours before the Albanese government’s controversial legislation to protect fish farming in the state’s Macquarie Harbour passed on Wednesday, global star Leonardo DiCaprio weighed in.