Why a trend has appeared in Victoria of residents flying the Australian flag upside down outside their properties

Published: 14:40, 11 May 2026 | Updated: 14:53, 11 May 2026 Frustrated Australians have taken to flying the flag upside down at their homes as tensions about water management, the cost of living, renewable energy projects, and food and fuel security boil over. The symbol of protest laid out on the front lawns and paddocks of many Victorian properties, especially along the Murray Valley Highway on the Victoria and NSW border, is how regional residents are voicing their disapproval.  One person flying the flag upside down is Leitchville resident Doug Fehring who told the ABC he was sick of the government letting the public's view on those matters go unheard. '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.' While there is an increasing number of people displaying the upside down flag outside their property, former farmer Lloyd Polkinghorne said it was 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,' the Koondrook resident said.  Disgusted citizens are flying the flag upside down outside their homes in a bid to demand change from their state and national governments Someone else who said the protests were reasonable was western Victorian Leigh who spent almost two decades in the army.   '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 were 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,' 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.'  That claim was backed in February, when polls showed One Nation was above 20 per cent nationally for the first time in 29 years and was ahead of the combined vote of the Liberal and National parties.  Given that most of the protesting residents live a fair distance away from the state capital and don't have time to engage in more formal action, Goulburn Valley's Nigel Hicks said it was the best they could do. Just across the border in the electorate of Farrer, One Nation just won a landslide by-election '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 wasn't the first time Victorians protested through the use of flags.  In 2020, Eureka flags were put out in regional Victoria to take a stand against water prices.  Dairy farmers were disgruntled about being ripped off, with statistics showing that about 400 dairy farms closed in the Goulburn Murray region from 2017-2020 as a result.  No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.