‘Brown-noser': Crass statue appears outside Richard Marles electoral office in Geelong
The installation, outside Mr Marles electoral office in Geelong, depicted a large nose with an apparent fecal smear.
Affixed to a light post by chain, the work is attributed to The New Radicals and names Mr Marles.
The protest art comes as Mr Marles signed a new five-decade treaty with the United Kingdom to cement the AUKUS submarine pact in his home city.
Dubbed 'The Geelong Treaty', the defence minister said the agreement would enable co-operation on the SSN-Aukus submarine.
'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,' Mr Marles said.
'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 new treaty was announced following the annual AUKMIN talks in Sydney on Friday.
Alongside his counterpart, UK Secretary of State for Defence John Healey, the two men celebrated the treaty with a beer at a Geelong brewery.
Spotted in Geelong's CBD on Saturday afternoon, the piece has vanished by 5pm.
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The 2025 war games involve the UK's Carrier Strike Group, led by the Royal Navy flagship HMS Prince of Wales - the first UK carrier strike group to visit Australia since 1997. Britain and Australia have formally strengthened bilateral ties around the AUKUS nuclear submarine agreement despite a review of the three-nation pact by the US government. AUKUS, formed with both the UK and US in 2021 to address concerns about China's rising military ambition, is designed to enable Australia to acquire nuclear-powered attack submarines in the 2040s. However, fears about the future of the $560 billion deal have persisted since the Trump administration initiated a review to examine whether it meets its "America-first" criteria. Defence Minister Richard Marles and UK Secretary of State John Healey put pen to paper on a partnership and collaboration arrangement between the two allies on Saturday. The so-called Geelong Treaty is being hailed as a historic pact in its own right, while also representing a 50-year co-operation arrangement under the AUKUS banner. Mr Marles said the bilateral agreement built on "the strong foundation of trilateral co-operation between Australia, the UK and the United States" and advanced the shared objectives of AUKUS. He remained confident of the future of US involvement in the partnership, he added. "The Geelong Treaty will enable comprehensive co-operation on the design, build, operation, sustainment, and disposal of our ... submarines," Mr Marles said. "It will support the development of the personnel, workforce, infrastructure and regulatory systems required for Australia's ... AUKUS program" as well as support the rotational presence of a UK Astute-class submarine at HMAS Stirling in Perth. Speaking alongside Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Mr Healey and UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy in Sydney on Friday, Mr Marles said Australia had made two contributions of $A760 million each to AUKUS this year. At the same press conference, Mr Lammy called Britain's relationship with Australia "an anchor in what is a very volatile world" and said it provided stability no matter which way geopolitical winds were blowing. Mr Healey said the UK was confident it could meet its obligations on industrial capacity to deliver SSN-AUKUS submarines and was undeterred by the US review. "Australia and the UK welcome the review because we see this as a chance for a new administration to renew their commitment to AUKUS and that's what we expect," he said. Australia will pay $5 billion to support British industry in designing and producing nuclear reactors to power the future AUKUS-class subs. It will also acquire at least three Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines from the US in the early 2030s. On Sunday, Mr Marles and visiting UK ministers will head to Darwin to observe joint military exercises known as Talisman Sabre, which comprise more than 30,000 personnel from 19 militaries. The 2025 war games involve the UK's Carrier Strike Group, led by the Royal Navy flagship HMS Prince of Wales - the first UK carrier strike group to visit Australia since 1997. Britain and Australia have formally strengthened bilateral ties around the AUKUS nuclear submarine agreement despite a review of the three-nation pact by the US government. AUKUS, formed with both the UK and US in 2021 to address concerns about China's rising military ambition, is designed to enable Australia to acquire nuclear-powered attack submarines in the 2040s. However, fears about the future of the $560 billion deal have persisted since the Trump administration initiated a review to examine whether it meets its "America-first" criteria. Defence Minister Richard Marles and UK Secretary of State John Healey put pen to paper on a partnership and collaboration arrangement between the two allies on Saturday. The so-called Geelong Treaty is being hailed as a historic pact in its own right, while also representing a 50-year co-operation arrangement under the AUKUS banner. Mr Marles said the bilateral agreement built on "the strong foundation of trilateral co-operation between Australia, the UK and the United States" and advanced the shared objectives of AUKUS. He remained confident of the future of US involvement in the partnership, he added. "The Geelong Treaty will enable comprehensive co-operation on the design, build, operation, sustainment, and disposal of our ... submarines," Mr Marles said. "It will support the development of the personnel, workforce, infrastructure and regulatory systems required for Australia's ... AUKUS program" as well as support the rotational presence of a UK Astute-class submarine at HMAS Stirling in Perth. Speaking alongside Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Mr Healey and UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy in Sydney on Friday, Mr Marles said Australia had made two contributions of $A760 million each to AUKUS this year. At the same press conference, Mr Lammy called Britain's relationship with Australia "an anchor in what is a very volatile world" and said it provided stability no matter which way geopolitical winds were blowing. Mr Healey said the UK was confident it could meet its obligations on industrial capacity to deliver SSN-AUKUS submarines and was undeterred by the US review. "Australia and the UK welcome the review because we see this as a chance for a new administration to renew their commitment to AUKUS and that's what we expect," he said. Australia will pay $5 billion to support British industry in designing and producing nuclear reactors to power the future AUKUS-class subs. It will also acquire at least three Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines from the US in the early 2030s. On Sunday, Mr Marles and visiting UK ministers will head to Darwin to observe joint military exercises known as Talisman Sabre, which comprise more than 30,000 personnel from 19 militaries. The 2025 war games involve the UK's Carrier Strike Group, led by the Royal Navy flagship HMS Prince of Wales - the first UK carrier strike group to visit Australia since 1997. Britain and Australia have formally strengthened bilateral ties around the AUKUS nuclear submarine agreement despite a review of the three-nation pact by the US government. AUKUS, formed with both the UK and US in 2021 to address concerns about China's rising military ambition, is designed to enable Australia to acquire nuclear-powered attack submarines in the 2040s. However, fears about the future of the $560 billion deal have persisted since the Trump administration initiated a review to examine whether it meets its "America-first" criteria. Defence Minister Richard Marles and UK Secretary of State John Healey put pen to paper on a partnership and collaboration arrangement between the two allies on Saturday. The so-called Geelong Treaty is being hailed as a historic pact in its own right, while also representing a 50-year co-operation arrangement under the AUKUS banner. Mr Marles said the bilateral agreement built on "the strong foundation of trilateral co-operation between Australia, the UK and the United States" and advanced the shared objectives of AUKUS. He remained confident of the future of US involvement in the partnership, he added. "The Geelong Treaty will enable comprehensive co-operation on the design, build, operation, sustainment, and disposal of our ... submarines," Mr Marles said. "It will support the development of the personnel, workforce, infrastructure and regulatory systems required for Australia's ... AUKUS program" as well as support the rotational presence of a UK Astute-class submarine at HMAS Stirling in Perth. Speaking alongside Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Mr Healey and UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy in Sydney on Friday, Mr Marles said Australia had made two contributions of $A760 million each to AUKUS this year. At the same press conference, Mr Lammy called Britain's relationship with Australia "an anchor in what is a very volatile world" and said it provided stability no matter which way geopolitical winds were blowing. Mr Healey said the UK was confident it could meet its obligations on industrial capacity to deliver SSN-AUKUS submarines and was undeterred by the US review. "Australia and the UK welcome the review because we see this as a chance for a new administration to renew their commitment to AUKUS and that's what we expect," he said. Australia will pay $5 billion to support British industry in designing and producing nuclear reactors to power the future AUKUS-class subs. It will also acquire at least three Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines from the US in the early 2030s. On Sunday, Mr Marles and visiting UK ministers will head to Darwin to observe joint military exercises known as Talisman Sabre, which comprise more than 30,000 personnel from 19 militaries. The 2025 war games involve the UK's Carrier Strike Group, led by the Royal Navy flagship HMS Prince of Wales - the first UK carrier strike group to visit Australia since 1997.
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