June 13, 2026 — 8:00pm Photo: Matt GoldingTo submit a letter to The Age, email letters@theage.com.au. Please include your home address and telephone number. No attachments, please include your letter in the body of the email. See here for our rules and tips on getting your letter published.The centre cannot holdFor most of my adult life I have considered myself a “wet liberal” – socially progressive, supportive of public services and inclined towards pragmatic government.Yet I increasingly wonder whether the political centre in Victoria has disappeared.Working in property, I see firsthand the impact of policies that make investment, development and housing delivery harder. At a time when Victorians are desperate for affordable housing, fewer projects are viable, fewer builders are willing to take on risk and fewer homes are being delivered.Government ministers talk about increasing housing supply, but the reality is different. Excessive regulation, higher taxes, approval delays and entrenched interests have created an environment where many choose not to build.Recent revelations of union corruption have deepened public cynicism. Victorians expect strong worker protections, as well as integrity and accountability. When confidence is lost, faith in institutions erodes.What surprises me is not that voters are frustrated, but where that frustration is heading. Many who would never have considered parties such as One Nation are beginning to listen, not because they agree with everything they hear, but because they feel the major parties no longer address their concerns.That should be a warning to both Labor and the Liberal Party. When moderate voters start looking to the political fringes for answers, it is often because the political centre has stopped listening.Julian Harvey, MelbourneDeath by preferenceOne would hope the Liberal Party won’t give their second preference to One Nation in the upcoming state election. This would be political suicide and see a decline in Liberal Party support.Christine Hammett, RichmondLiberals’ dilemmaWith polls showing Labor and One Nation now level-pegging as preferred party to govern Australia, the Liberals – a distant third – face a dilemma born of their own disintegration. Liberals are no longer regarded as a serious alternative government.This could herald the end of two-party politics and the rise of multi-party governments. So rather than fantasising over preference deals or seat-splitting with One Nation, the reality for the Liberals is that at best they may be able to be a minor party in a multiparty government. This creates a moral and ethical dilemma for the Liberals, whether to join Labor or One Nation to form government. Liberals should tell us now what they would do.Carlo Ursida, KensingtonSensible solutionIt would be a disaster in many ways if One Nation gained enough seats to form government federally; the climate, outrageously expensive defence policy and lack of knowledge and experience of new government ministers, are just a few examples.The problem could easily be solved if both Labor and the Coalition agreed to place each other ahead of One Nation on how-to-vote cards.But that would be so extraordinarily sensible, and no doubt the Coalition wouldn’t act sensibly for once.Tom Ward, SorrentoRating the morningI’m with your correspondent in relation to the ABC (Letters, 13/6) and have switched from ABC Mornings to Radio National. The endless sporting talk every morning drove me away. Every morning Bob Murphy finds some sport to chat about, often on obscure sporting events on which to pontificate.Bring back Sammy J, he relegated sport to its natural position on morning radio, a brief and barely tolerated intrusion into the humour and gravitas that started the day.Rohan Wightman, BrunswickMisnamed supervisionIf a prisoner in custody is granted supervised release, doesn’t the public have a right to assume that the release is actually supervised?The police explanation that “due to the sheer amount of people we couldn’t see the individual” is difficult to reconcile with the very meaning of supervision.Supervised should mean monitored, watched and managed.If supervision ends the moment a crowd appears, then it was never supervision in the first place.Sue McNamara, RyeHistory lessonsYour correspondent in his letter ″⁣The neoliberal crowd is not our friend″⁣ (11/6), puts his finger on the great destroyer of today’s society. A distortion of capitalism, neoliberalism has gained the upper hand in Western economies over the past few decades.With the help of governments, big business now wields disproportionate influence over our lives, with the rich getting richer and workers’ wages falling behind. This disparity of wealth should be a warning sign to us all, with the resulting frustration leading to thepopularity of politicians suchas Donald Trump and Pauline Hanson.A look at history shows that wealth disparity caused the downfall of great past civilisations such as Greece and Rome – societies that functioned well until wealthy elites emerged. The revolutions of France and Russia both sprang from wealthy aristocracies suppressing the poor.Courtney Pern, East MalvernDeveloping unpopularOne of the reasons the Premier, Jacinta Allan, is unpopular is because of her perceived arrogance in pushing through 10- to 20-storey developments in low-rise suburban landscapes against the wishes of residents and local councils.Bill O’Connor, BeechworthThe grand childrenThe suggestion by columnist Jenna Price (″⁣Past childbearing?″⁣, 13/6) of multi-generational living is a great one, although perhaps not all parents have great relationships with their adult kids.Our grandchildren’s third grade teacher once told us that he could tell almost as soon as kids came into his classroom each year which ones had regular contact with grandparents. The advantages, to him, were obvious. We’ve had wonderful experiences with our grandkids, now in their 20s, and are often reminded of the text on an embroidered cushion that says, ″⁣If I had known grandchildren were so much fun, I would have had them first.″⁣Don Jordan, Mt WaverleyAFL changesOver most weekends, I watch AFL games and often question whether some may have had a different result had doubtful free kicks been awarded to the opposing team. I suggest that at the end of each season an experimental game be played. The rules for “holding the man holding the ball” be made instantaneous rather than by an umpire. Other changes could be trialled to remove the “stacks on the mill” which I find an unattractive part of the game.The aim is to make the game more attractive although removal of spectator anger may remove game-day excitement.Bruce Love, East MelbourneA beautiful sight . . .In a world where countries and politics sadly divide people , it’s sport that unites people and why soccer is called the beautiful game.The sacrifices of some players has lifted them out of poverty and is the culmination of blood, sweat and tears towards their sporting success.Let the passion of the World Cup sweep through Melbourne and even if you think it’s boring you can be swept up in the heartfelt emotions of soccer fans.Pam Papadopoulos, South Yarra. . . A discordant noiseBe thankful the bust of former prime minister Scott Morrison at Ballarat is not equipped with a ukulele recording.Greg Curtin, NunawadingFrom our partners