Frustrated Australians have taken to flying the flag upside down at their homes, as tensions over water management, the cost of living, renewable energy projects, and food and fuel security boil over. This symbol of protest, displayed on front lawns and paddocks across many Victorian properties—particularly along the Murray Valley Highway on the Victoria-NSW border—is how regional residents are voicing their disapproval.
Voicing Disapproval
One such resident is Doug Fehring from Leitchville, who told the ABC he is tired of the government ignoring public views on these matters. 'For all the submissions, meetings, and protests we've done, nothing's happened, no changes, and I'm a bit tired of it,' Mr Fehring said. 'They're not listening, and we've got further buybacks being hijacked by the Greens, the Liberals are falling apart, the Coalition can't control itself either—it's just a shambles really, and we've got nowhere to go. And that's why people are going to One Nation, really.'
Former farmer Lloyd Polkinghorne from Koondrook said the increasing number of upside-down flags is understandable given the circumstances. 'One of the big concerns facing our farmers is water buybacks ... but we've also got power lines ... and then we've got the burden of fuel and fertiliser pricing,' he said.
Leigh, a western Victorian who spent nearly two decades in the army, also deemed the protests reasonable. 'There is a lot of distress happening in our community at the moment,' he said. 'It's extremely sad to see what's happening in Victoria. There is so much hardship at the moment, and it's evident everywhere you go in the state, and I think it's only getting worse.' As a result, Leigh claimed Victorians are beginning to switch their allegiance to Pauline Hanson's One Nation party. 'When I was a kid, going back 25 to 30 years ago, Pauline Hanson was nothing but somewhat of a joke. But now … I don't know any person in my circle at the moment that isn't for the whole One Nation movement.'
Political Shift
This claim was backed in February, when polls showed One Nation was above 20 per cent nationally for the first time in 29 years, ahead of the combined vote of the Liberal and National parties. Given that most protesting residents live far from the state capital and lack time for more formal action, Goulburn Valley's Nigel Hicks said flying the flag upside down is the best they can do. 'You've got ministers and government people driving along these roads to go to some of these meetings, and it's one way of people permanently showing where they stand,' he said.
This isn't the first time Victorians have protested using flags. In 2020, Eureka flags were displayed across regional Victoria to oppose water prices. Dairy farmers were disgruntled about being ripped off, with statistics showing about 400 dairy farms closed in the Goulburn Murray region from 2017 to 2020 as a result.
