Australia's 'biggest brown-noser' politician named on protest sculpture
- Art criticising AUKUS deal erected in Geelong
- It coincides with a major UK-Australia deal
A provocative piece of street art has taken aim at federal Defence Minister Richard Marles, labelling him 'Australia's biggest brown–noser'.
The crude installation, spotted outside his Geelong electorate office on Saturday, featured a large sculpted nose smeared with what appeared to be fake faeces.
There was also a pile of 'faeces' resting on a sign which said: 'This memorial erected by The New Radicals in honour of Australia's biggest brown-noser Richard Marles.'
It was chained to a nearby post in the city's CBD before disappearing by 5pm, and images of the artwork were shared on social media by the activist group.
Australians praised the artwork as 'incredible', with one user on X quipping: 'The drips on the ground are what makes it.'
The New Radicals have previously claimed responsibility for similar stunts in the same location, including a mock submarine called 'HMAS Richard'.
The submarine are understood to have been a reference to those promised to Australia in the AUKUS trilateral defence agreement between Australia, the UK and the United States.
Meanwhile, the latest piece of art coincided with Marles' formal signing of a historic bilateral security pact with the UK on Saturday.
Artwork was erected on a post in Geelong's CBD where Richard Marles serves as an MP
A group called 'The New Radicals' were behind the art portraying 'fake faeces'
The deal, dubbed the 'Geelong Treaty', was signed in the city to represent a 50-year co-operation arrangement between the two allies under the AUKUS banner.
Marles described the agreement as a transformational moment for the nation's defence and industry: 'In doing this, AUKUS will see 20,000 jobs in Australia.'
'It will see, in building submarines in this country, the biggest industrial endeavour in our nation's history, bigger even than the Snowy Hydro scheme.
'In military terms, what it will deliver is the biggest leap in Australia's military capability, really, since the formation of the navy back in 1913.'
The announcement followed the annual AUKMIN talks in Sydney, with Marles and UK Defence Secretary John Healey celebrating the deal with a beer at a Geelong brewery.
It came just days after the Albanese Government transferred a further $800million to the United States under the AUKUS program, despite the agreement being under a review ordered by US President Donald Trump.
'There is a schedule of payments to be made, we have an agreement with the United States as well as with the United Kingdom,' Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told ABC's Afternoon Briefing on Wednesday.
'It is about increasing their industrial capacity, and as part of that, we have Australians on the ground, learning the skills so that when it comes to the SSN–AUKUS—the submarines being built here in Australia, we have those skills.'
Foreign Minister Marles (left) signed a 50-year deal with UK counterpart John Healey (right)
The AUKUS deal includes Australia acquiring eight nuclear–powered submarines expected to cost between $268billion and $368billion over the next three decades.
Despite internal unrest, with several local Labor branches voting to oppose the deal over the previous months across the country, the government has remained firm in its support for AUKUS.
The timing of the expected conclusion of the US review into AUKUS remains unclear.
It is being led by Elbridge Colby, who has publicly expressed scepticism about the pact and warned it could leave American sailors exposed and under-resourced.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Marles' office for comment on the artwork.
