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Sydney’s Mediterranean community have taken to the streets in a passionate protest today, claiming that their cultural practices are being hindered by new nanny-state legislation aimed at preventing them from using the Greek Broom.

Often referred to as ‘the Greek broom’ – the Southern-European practice of hosing down driveways has been a hot topic for local politicians for many years now, with a large contingent of non-Greek Australians complaining that the decadent practice is a blatant and unnecessary waste of resources.

However, community leaders say this is a load of skippy bullshit, and refuse to acknowledge these new laws.

This comes as Sydney is facing stage one water restrictions for the first time in a decade as dam levels drop faster than expected.

From Saturday, all hoses must have trigger nozzles, watering lawns and gardens will be restricted to early morning and late afternoon, and there will be tough fines for those who flout the restrictions.

The NSW government announced the restrictions, which apply to everyone in the high-Greek regions of Sydney, the Blue Mountains and the Illawarra on Tuesday and said they were necessary because of the drought gripping the state.

However, thousands of Greeks have still taken to the streets in protest today, arguing that if they can’t use their hoses non-stop for hours on a Sunday afternoon – then they may as well just let their concrete crack like the morons next door.

Local activist Con Stanshitaka (58) says while they understand the importance of sustainable agriculture to keep their fruit shops and restaurants stocked with fresh produce – without a concrete driveway to safely park the fruit van in, nothing will end up on the shelves.