Protesting Farmers Dumped A Load Of Cow Poo Outside A National Party MP’s Office This Morning Because Democracy

One of the silver linings in the great black cloud of despair that is Australian politics is that people’s anger and frustration is finding outlets in all kinds of novel and interesting ways. Whether it’s locking themselves to machinery, throwing up Obama-inspired posters, creating viral parody webseries, or just drawing dicks on a campaign bus, people who aren’t professional protesters seem to be getting more comfortable with taking matters into their own hands when a government isn’t listening, and more confident at putting their own stamp on it rather than pretending it’s 1969 again.

Widespread protests against the introduction of coal-seam gas (CSG) wells in country NSW, which have pitted farmers and communities against multinational gas companies and various state governments, have produced some particularly delightful examples of this phenomenon recently. Regional areas of NSW usually elect politicians from the National Party, but the National’s support for CSG has seen a stack of independent candidates put their hands up to kick them out of otherwise-safe seats and massive protests like the Bentley Blockade draw thousands of people.

State member for Lismore and Nationals MP Thomas George has seen his standing among voters hit especially hard for supporting CSG in the Northern Rivers, weathering calls to resign and even being spat on at a community meeting in 2012. But a protest outside George’s Lismore electoral office this morning took a slightly more creative tack — rather than metaphorically call bullshit on the National’s support for CSG, farmers literally dumped a load of bullshit on George’s door. George wasn’t there to smell the wind, and protesters cleaned up after themselves before they left, but it’s still a pretty good way of getting your message across.

This isn’t the first time George’s electoral office has been the target of some highly creative protests. He’s a favourite target of the Knitting Nannas, a group of anti-CSG campaigners made up entirely of adorable old ladies. They regularly camp outside George’s office looking to have a chat and a cuppa with their local member, but since he inexplicably never shows up they usually end up passing the time pinning silly accessories onto a cardboard cut-out of him.

It must be nice to inspire such artistic drive in people.