Pointed questions for Ben, Jess and Warren

November 10, 2026 — 8:00pm

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VICTORIAN ELECTION

I have voted Labor, at both state and federal level, ever since “It’s Time” launched Gough. This has never caused me difficulties until very recently when the state of Victorian politics made me wonder if Labor could still convince me it was the party to run this state.
I appeal to all of the parties to convince me that I should support them. Ben, please persuade me that you can resurrect us from the incompetence of your antecedents, that you still believe in the social contract of a fair go and you can rescue the state from its budget black hole.
Jess, are you more than a three-word sloganeer (‘Fill the Potholes’, ’Scrap the Treaty”) who is beholden to the top end of town and the preservation of privilege, or can you produce a policy program I and other reasonable people can support?
Warren, do you have anything for me or the state beyond negativity? Can any of you tell me why I should not vote for an independent or a Green? Asking for a friend.
Dave Rabl, Ocean Grove

Less manosphere encouragement the better
Donald Trump now claims his suggestion that UFC boss Dana White become White House press secretary was a joke. Let’s hope Jess Wilson’s proposal to bring UFC events to Melbourne is one too. The manosphere deserves no political endorsement.
Ray Peck, Hawthorn

Enough civic thuggery as it is
Liberal leader Jess Wilson was out there in past days promoting the return of the UFC to boost Victoria’s coffers. A so-called American sport of violence and thuggery. The previous week, she was alerting everyone (rightly so) to the violence and thuggery permeating our society. So what is it you stand for Jess?
Ron Reynolds, Templestowe

Renewables help reduce cost of living worries
Premier Ben Carroll is right to call this the most important Victorian election in a generation (“13 seats to watch”, 10/11). On climate and energy, for example, the choice couldn’t be starker.
The Greens and many independents back cheap, clean renewables. Labor promises to wean households off gas and push ahead with offshore wind. The Coalition wants to reopen the door to polluting gas, while One Nation would drag us back to coal. Given that Victorian gas prices have surged 62 per cent in five years and delaying coal closures could add more than $400 a year to household bills by 2030, these seem strange choices.
Climate change may not top voters’ worry lists, but cost of living does, and new wind and solar remain far cheaper than coal and gas.
Sarah Hegarty, Hawthorn East

And what about Treaty?
Looks like Victorian Labor is set to be defeated at the Victorian election in just under three weeks’ time (“Carroll’s Labor facing an election wipeout”, 10/11). People’s concern for protecting their current lifestyles will play a part, stoked by The Age’s coverage of Labor’s higher density housing around activity centres.
Spare a thought for First Nations people. Jess Wilson has promised to “tear up the Treaty” between the Victorian government and First Nations people.
Forty per cent of Australians supported the Yes vote in the Voice Referendum, so we do care about the rights of Indigenous people to have a say in matters that concern them.
Jan Marshall, Brighton

Big four banks reject oil, gas projects
Not one of our four major banks will fund the pipelines needed to transport gas across our country (Letters “ANZ’s move”, 10/11). Could the message that gas and oil are considered risky businesses be any clearer? If banks won’t fund “infrastructure dedicated solely to new upstream oil and gas projects”, is the Liberal plan to source new gas for Victoria a viable option?
Karen Campbell, Geelong

THE FORUM

Beware flush of victory
In the event that Jess Wilson were to become premier of Victoria, she should remember that not everything done by the previous government was wrong and therefore should be repealed.
It would be a tragedy should she repeal the Treaty or cause the cancellation of the SRL when it is well under way. Rash decisions made in the first flush of victory may come back to bite her.
Michael Nolan, Capel Sound

Not so safe Liberals
John Pesutto shouldn’t start dreaming just yet (Letters, “Pesutto dreams”, 10/11). He and would-be premier Jess Wilson both face strong independent challengers in Hawthorn and Kew, communities that have already elected independents federally and on council.
Curiously, neither seat made your “13 seats to watch” (10/11). Voters here have backed integrity, transparency and climate action before, and could well do so again. So-called safe Liberal seats are anything but.
Sarah Brennan, Hawthorn

Kids’ climate future
As COP 31 gets under way, Victorian voters need to be very clear that electing parties committed to stopping transmission grid upgrades and obstructing millions of dollars of pending investment in wind, solar and batteries will mean that neither Victoria, nor Australia will meet our international greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets.
This will weaken global efforts to reduce emissions to avert a catastrophic climate future. To help protect our and our kids’ climate future, vote for a progressive independent or parties that are genuinely committed to reducing emissions.
Bill Grant, Castlemaine

Live where you represent
Why isn’t residency in the electorate one wants to represent a prerequisite for potential members of parliament? Surely, if you want to represent a particular group of people you should have real daily experience of their environment. Simply learning about them from the media, be it traditional or social, isn’t enough.
The independent, Will Fowles, has represented Burwood, then Ringwood, and now wants to represent the people of Preston. If there were a residency prerequisite of say two or three years, then we wouldn’t see this type of electoral shopping around.
When I attend a community meeting for the local candidates tomorrow, l want to learn how long each candidate has lived in my electorate. And if they do not live in the electorate, they move to the bottom of my preferences. I want a parliamentary representative who knows the people they represent.
Julie Moffat, St Leonards

Return to Kennett days
One of former prime minister John Howard’s greatest legacies was his decision to prioritise the common good over the individual rights of citizens to own guns. That teachers, health workers, firefighters et al can be shut out of living close to the city where they work due to costs of accommodation is against the common good.
My fear is that Ms Wilson, fired up with neo-liberal ideology and a preference for individual rights not to live near a shadow or an increase in wind velocity, will return us to some version of the Kennett era.
Ian Muldoon, St Kilda

Snake season
With fire and snake season upon us, is there any chance that councils and VicRoads will regularly mow the grass in median strips, parks and areas around playgrounds? At the moment, the answer seems no.
Greig Morris, Essendon

Population the cause
Having lived in Brighton and inner-city Brunswick, I understand residents’ concerns about densification and loss of amenity. Those who decry damage done by increased densification often push for urban expansion.
But now living in Macedon Ranges, I would observe this also comes at a cost to environment and community cohesion. It threatens biodiversity, and pushes an outer-suburban population into hours of commute on degrading infrastructure.
When are we going to address the root cause of the problem? Our population growth is purely driven by government policy. It is population growth which is making houses unaffordable, depriving future generations of livable space, bulldozing habitat, and making our suburbs less pleasant.
Having also lived in one of the fastest growing and most populous places on the planet – in Indonesia – I would suggest it is a fool who thinks we can maintain constant growth, without losing our current quality of life.
Alison Joseph, Bullengarook

North-south divide
Brighton residents are upset with a proposed six-storey apartment block in their suburban street. We share their anguish in Fitzroy North. In Rae Street, a seven-level block is about to harm our heritage streetscape, thanks to the state government’s reckless “fast track” planning scheme.
At least Brighton residents may get some relief when the Liberals take power in coming weeks and scrap such proposals in their blue-chip heartland. No such support for those in the north.
Shayne Mooney, Fitzroy North

Leo’s not so special
Re ″⁣These 3D models show Labor’s high-rise vision of Kew. Jess Wilson wants to scrap it″⁣ (10/11).
Looking at pictures of Leo’s supermarket in Kew, it does not appear worthy of heritage protection. It’s an eyesore and waste of precious land. In modern form, it could live on the ground floor of an apartment building.
Ralph Böhmer, St Kilda West

Missed the train
As a former Victorian, I can remember a railway line to the airport being discussed back in the ’70s when Tullamarine opened. Today, there is still talk, but no action. In Perth, an excellent rail service to the airport takes 18 minutes from the city and there is a train every 15 minutes. We have used this service several times, as well as the airport services in Brisbane and Sydney. In all cases, there was action, not just talk to build these lines.
We use the SkyBus service when we fly to Melbourne and have found it satisfactory, even when traffic may be heavy. The government has missed the train. The next government should put resources into more much-needed projects.
Noel Forster, Murdoch, WA

End private childcare
As a usually optimistic person, I am beginning to despair as yet another report on early childhood learning informs us that “Mega childcare centres (are) threatening the quality of childcare” (10/11). Well, there’s a surprise!
Over 70 per cent of childcare is in for-profit hands. Services were once largely funded and supported by federal government with a range of services provided by local government, churches and community groups with clear regulations and oversight.
John Howard did us all a huge disfavour by opening up the sector to for-profit organisations, many of which had little interest in meeting real community needs.
Previous reports have informed us that children have been abused, injured, locked out; that centres are understaffed with a high turnover; and now that they are opened and closed in an opportunistic manner with little regard to meeting a community need – more than 200 closed nationally in the last year.
This latest report by advocacy group The Front Project provides yet more evidence for the benefits of moving away from a market-driven early learning sector. The federal government already spends $20 billion a year on the childcare subsidy to maintain an unsatisfactory status quo.
We have a minister for early education and Australian education ministers have agreed on a proposed Early Education and Care Commission to examine planning.
Can we stop pussyfooting around and get a move on? Australia needs quality, affordable, accessible childcare for our children’s wellbeing and development. It should be provided by government and in community hands.
Anne Sgro, Coburg North

Deinstitutionalisation fails
As a Melbourne University medical student in the early 1980s we visited a number of inpatient psychiatric facilities that catered for those unable to be safely or appropriately cared for otherwise.
These facilities have been closed, their residents turned out into the community and the land sold and redeveloped. As a consequence, the dangerously deranged now walk our streets and are a danger to themselves and the rest of us.
Regularly we read of stabbings and assaults committed by the unsupervised mentally ill.
This tragedy will continue to play out. Deinstitutionalisation has been a dangerous experiment and a failure. It reflects very poorly on our society and especially on our civic decision makers.
Dr Mark Langley, Daylesford

Qantas not at home
With its proposed local jobs cutting and outsourcing to cheap labour in India, Qantas is further demonstrating it doesn’t call Australia home.
CEO Vanessa Hudson shedding crocodile tears is no consolation for Australians out of jobs.
Alan Williams, Port Melbourne

Sing through it
Every week, I convene a current affairs discussion group. The attendees are intelligent, articulate men and women over 50 with diverse opinions on most things. After discussing the very depressing news of the world recently, we moved to the songbook selection.
Some choices were expected but others unheard of. For once, there were unanimous calls for the more obvious inclusions. The favourites were: We Are Australian, I Still Call Australia Home, The Pub With No Beer and the AFL anthem Up There Cazaly.
Joy Hanrahan, Toorak

AND ANOTHER THING

Victoria
The Big Build royal commission found compelling evidence of alleged corruption in building projects on the first day of hearings. Quelle surprise.
Ross McPhee, Seaford

Full credit to The Age. Its powerful Building Bad investigative series not only played a pivotal role in exposing the issues that led to the establishment of the Big Build royal commission, but also demonstrated the importance of fearless journalism in holding those in power to account.
Brian Marshall, Ashburton

I do wonder what sort of contaminated air those former premiers have been breathing (″⁣Look at the bar table to grasp the weight of this royal commission″⁣, 10/11) to ignore warning signs that they could cost taxpayers billions of dollars extra in construction costs on the Big Build. And Victoria used to be seen as a civilised state.
Peta Colebatch, Hawthorn

Re “Carroll’s Labor facing an election wipeout”, (10/11). Anyone but One Nation.
Lawrie Bradly, Surrey Hills

Is Jess’s pledge of more fire trucks to be funded by the fire sale of public assets?
George Reed, Wheelers Hill

To those rusted on Labor voters – the truth and extent of the state government’s mismanagement, waste and disregard for the people of Victoria is finally being aired. Vote Labor last – Victoria is desperate for a reboot.
Christine Barnett, Highton

Brilliant cartoon, Megan Herbert (10/11). In my school days, we used to fall backwards onto friends to see if you could trust them to catch you. Sadly, too cynical now to have such much faith in politicians of any persuasion.
Myra Fisher, Brighton East

Finally
Bunnings’ sponsorship of media coverage and naming rights of the grass banks at the WACA in Perth with the resurrection of the sandpaper scandal could see sandpaper a sellout at its stores this summer during DIY season!
Ross Kroger, Barwon Heads

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