Regional Victorians flip national flag upside-down in protest at 'neglect'

Victorians in the north of the state are displaying upside-down Australian flags as a sign of discontent with government policy. (ABC News: Warwick Long) Some regional Victorians have started displaying upside-down Australian flags as a sign of protest over various state and federal government policies. Expert Josh Roose says the trend coincides with a push towards populist ideology, in response to a "neglected" regional Victoria. Some say growing hardship and a distrust of government and political parties are leading them away from mainstream politics. Link copiedShareShare articleWhen you drive the Murray Valley Highway, as it stretches east-to-west along the Victoria-NSW border, Australian flags hung upside-down feature prominently on front lawns and in paddocks. For some of the farmers who work this land, it is their way of showing their disapproval of the state and federal governments. Doug Fehring is flying an upside-down flag at his property in northern Victoria in protest against government policies. (ABC News: Tyrone Dalton) Doug Fehring is one of those Victorians flying an upside-down Australian flag outside his Leitchville property. He said he was fed up with "a lack of political will" to listen and respond to what Australians think about water management, cost of living, renewable energy projects, and food and fuel security. "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 lives in Koondrook, and he's noticed a growing number of upside-down flags displayed on properties in the region. Irrigator Lloyd Polkinghorne has become dissatisfied with politicians. (Supplied: Lloyd Polkinghorne ) He said the international sign of maritime distress is emerging for "several reasons". "One of the big ones that's 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," Mr Polkinghorne said. It's not the first time rural Victorians have used flags to show their discontent with governments. In 2020, farmers in northern Victoria flew the Eureka flag, historically used by miners to rebel against gold mining taxes in the Victorian gold rush, to protest against water policy and the closure of hundreds of dairy farms. Leigh, who lives in western Victoria and didn't want to give his last name, spent 17 years in the Australian Army, before being medically discharged five years ago. He described those displaying upside-down flags as "brave", and said the move was "fairly understandable". "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.” Leigh said he has noticed a shift in attitudes towards One Nation in his circle as it gets tougher for regional Australians. "When I was a kid, going back 25 to 30 years ago, Pauline Hanson was nothing but somewhat of a joke," he said. “But now... I don’t know any person in my circle at the moment that isn’t for the whole One Nation movement". Some rural Victorians are flying Australian flags upside down to signal their disatisfaction with government. Nigel Hicks is from Wyuna in Victoria's Goulburn Valley and said flying flags out the front of properties was a way for time-poor farmers to protest. "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. "I think we saw that even with the sets of CFA overalls hanging on farmers' gates [over the Victorian government's emergency services levy]." Political sociologist Associate Professor Josh Roose said the upside-down flag movement reflected a strong sense of "disempowerment" in the community. Deakin University extremism researcher Josh Roose. (ABC News: Kyle Harley) "Where the infrastructure has been hired out, where people can no longer necessarily buy a house in the town they grew up in due to external investment, Airbnb’s and so on... diesel is the lifeblood of our regions and even that is becoming unaffordable." Professor Roose said the perceived disempowerment in the regions coincided with a rise in populist parties. For the first time, One Nation is polling above 20 per cent nationally and is ahead of the combined vote of the Liberal and National parties. He said One Nation's framing was "certainly populist", appealing to people's feeling of being "neglected [and] left behind", but he noted the par

Regional Victorians flip national flag upside-down in protest at 'neglect'

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