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Waleed Aly makes the striking admission that he’s never ″known the parliament and public opinion to be so out of alignment″ (Comment, 21/8). This leaves open the question as to whether on any given issue the public or parliament is taking the stand that better serves the nation’s interests. Clearly the Albanese government has been able to leverage its power to persuade either the Greens or the Coalition to back its legislation on issues such as gambling reform in spite of majority public opinion to the contrary. It has stared down widespread support for a levy on gas exports. And in spite of most Australians’ desire to protect nature and promote a healthy environment it continues to open new or extend old coal mines. The public isn’t always right but on these issues it’s on the right side of history.Tom Knowles, Parkville

Sanity and the balance of power

Three bills passed with opposition help does not prove Pauline Hanson correct, that Labor and the Liberals are a “uniparty″. It does show that the composition of the Senate is critical for amending and passing legislation. After the next federal election One Nation could hold the balance of power in the Senate. More independent senators with the calibre of David Pocock would be an effective sanity check on all the major parties. A similar situation may apply in Victoria, after the state election in November. Whichever party or parties form the next state government, the checks and balances of democracy could be served best with teal independents holding the balance of power in the Victorian Legislative Council.John Hughes, Mentone

Consequences of lost confidence in parties

Anthony Albanese says he’s comfortable in the role of PM and hopes to serve at least another term in office, but does the reality actually support that possibility? He’s done a deal with the Coalition to get his unsatisfactory gambling reforms through, he’s alienated thousands of Australians with changes to the NDIS, and even when there is widespread support in the community for a 25 per cent tax on gas exports (which would help pay for much-needed improvements in health and education and the NDIS) he talks nonsense about impacts on our trading partners.

The high polling numbers for One Nation are a reminder that many feel disillusioned and held back by years of neoliberal economics. It seems highly likely that many will vote for One Nation because of lost confidence in the traditional parties of government – a ″coalition″ of One Nation, Liberals and Nationals is not an impossible prospect after the next election. At the other end of the spectrum, people who care about climate action, integrity in decision-making and reducing the power of corporate lobbying, are likely to move their support to the teals, other independents and the Greens. If I were a first-term Labor backbencher, I would be starting to think about my post-politics career options.Catherine Rossiter, Fadden, ACT

THE FORUM

Refund, please

The Age investigation into the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church’s covert election campaign (″Exclusive Brethren secretly paid far-right activists″, 21/8) describes cash payments to political agitators, co-ordinated tracking of the prime minister, and a multimillion-dollar effort for one side of politics.

Charity law is not complicated here. An organisation that promotes or opposes a political party cannot be a registered charity, and the regulator judges that by conduct: where the money goes, who directs it, what campaigns it runs. Registration is what entitles the Brethren’s network of entities to income tax exemption, and the law provides the remedy: the ACNC can revoke registration backdated to when entitlement was lost, after which the ATO reassesses every concession claimed since.

ACNC Commissioner Sue Woodward and the minister responsible for charities, Andrew Leigh, should begin that process today. Tax exemption is a bargain: we forgo revenue because an organisation serves the community. One that secretly bankrolls partisan campaigning has broken that bargain with our money. The Australian people are owed a refund, and we expect it promptly and in full.Paul Henry, Murrumbeena

Status query

Surely it’s time for the charities regulator to explain why the Brethren should retain its charity status. Or at the very least should be asked to appear before the parliamentary electoral matters inquiry to reveal what action it has been taking to examine the behaviour of the sect in relation to political meddling.Brandon Mack, Deepdene

Abide by poll laws

Credit to The Age for continuing to investigate and cover the conduct of Exclusive Brethren during the 2025 federal election. The coverage reveals how the officially named Plymouth Brethren Christian Church obscured their involvement in the election by paying those with links to neo-Nazis and Advance, the Australian far-right activist organisation to disrupt the election.

If the Brethren are going to take part in elections, they must at the very least abide by our election laws by disclosing their own authorisation of election materials and identifying themselves at voting booths.

For our part, Australians must insist that the government is not exempting the Christian Brethren a benefit granted only to genuine faith organisations not participating in politics. The joint select committee on electoral matters should see to this.Amy Bachrach, McKinnon

Context needed

Your correspondents’ disapproval of Israel’s decision to close its investigation into the death of Zomi Frankcom (Letters, 21/8) is understandable, but lacks important context. Her death was the result of a breakdown in communications between World Central Kitchen and the Israeli government, which led to the IDF misidentifying WCK’s armed security personnel as Hamas militants. Tragic though the incident was, it was an understandable mistake made in the fog of war, and not a deliberate war crime which would necessitate criminal charges.

As stated in the Australian government’s review of the incident led by Mark Binskin, ″the IDF strike on the WCK aid workers was not knowingly or deliberately directed against the WCK″, and the officers responsible for the strike were immediately reprimanded or dismissed by the IDF’s Chief of General Staff. Israel’s response was ″timely, appropriate, and, with some exceptions, sufficient″. Wartime mistakes that lead to civilian deaths are heartbreaking, but should not be used to stigmatise Israel’s lawful exercise of its right to defend itself.Nikhil Dhanabal, Clyde North

Incompetency abounds

The result of the Israeli inquiry into the killing of aid workers, including Australian Zomi Frankcom, has concluded that no criminal activity occurred. I imagine that this is no surprise to anyone. The Israeli conclusion is that it was an unfortunate accident. One, therefore, has to accept that the Israeli military has a disturbingly large number of blisteringly incompetent operators. That is the best take.Ross Hudson, Mount Martha

What about Box Hill?

The government is creating a new suburb with schools and hectares of open space (″New suburb gets the nod in the west to meet population boom″, 21/8). What about Box Hill CBD and surrounds with its new high-rise towers creating a mini-suburb? There is no Box Hill primary school; and in a suburb deprived of reasonable green open space for those already here, where is the new parkland and other needed infrastructure?Elizabeth Meredith, Surrey Hills

It’s the Libs’ turn

Your correspondent (Letters, 21/8) says that the Victorian liberals “have shown themselves wholly unfit for government” and that “a vote for the Liberals is a vote for infighting and dysfunction”. Up until Jess Wilson’s ascension to leader that may have been true, but it certainly isn’t now. It is Labor that just dumped its premier, four months before an election. If that isn’t a sign of dysfunction I don’t know what is. Labor long ago forfeited any right to expect a fourth term, and a rejuvenated and stable Liberal Party now deserves an opportunity to govern, with or without One Nation support.Greg Hardy, Upper Ferntree Gully

My voice is my own

I would like to know if Telstra is going to manage and store the voice prints for the ATO (Letters, 21/8). On the occasions I have had to call Services Australia, I am forced to go through a procedure to give them my voice print. This, I am told, is managed by Telstra and will save me time in the future. No thanks, I value my privacy, what little I have remaining.Peter Thomas, Pascoe Vale

Distant third

I recently returned from six weeks travelling the roads of Victoria, NSW and Queensland in my campervan, yes, another grey nomad. It was obvious that the roads in Victoria are in a parlous state, compared with those up north. It was a pleasure to drive in outback Queensland, with well-maintained surfaces and good signage, compared to our state – the State of Disrepair – where one has to try to avoid potholes, cope with uneven surfaces, and decipher misleading signs. NSW’s roads were a little worse than Queensland’s but much better that Victoria’s. Our taxes should be ensuring safe road surfaces. Besides, we must be a laughing stock among international travellers.Margaret Collings, Anglesea

Counting the holes

Last Sunday, as a passenger driving from Melbourne to Daylesford, I wondered about the number of potholes on the Ballan to Daylesford road. From the Western Highway Ballan turn-off to the C141 to Daylesford, I counted 156. That was for both directions. I may have missed a few.Bernadette Winfield-Gray, Hepburn Springs

Why the silence?

The Sydney Swans’ women’s team bears the brunt of the actions of the club’s men’s players (“Why women bear the brunt of Swans crisis”, 21/8). To read that the women’s team had been silenced in the early days of the scandal by the club left me dumbfounded. While there are legal issues to be acknowledged, surely the players most affected by this should be trusted to speak about the effects the saga has had on them and the broader community. As a society we need to understand the impact this has on others.Vibeke Pedersen, Essendon

Words of delight

A collection of the Wright stuff (Letters, 21/8)? Wonderful idea. I met Tony Wright when he agreed to cover a Legacy centenary event in Korumburra in 2023. I introduced him as one of Australia’s finest journalists. His knowledge, facility with language, ability to craft columns about anything and takedown of pomposity are a delight. They say no one is irreplaceable. I contend he is. My thanks for all the joy his writing has given me.Jane Ross, San Remo

AND ANOTHER THING

America

Donald Trump is now threatening huge sanctions on any countries doing business with Iran. So I guess he really has run out of missiles. Will there be an exemption for his buddy Vladimir Putin, who buys Iranian drones to bomb Ukraine?Tim Durbridge, Brunswick

It simply beggars belief that the richest country in the world, the US, despite in 2026 having a total GDP of $US32.38 trillion, has a debt of $US40 trillion owed to China, the United Kingdom, Japan and more than 30 other entities.Eric Palm, Gympie, Qld

Make America good again.Bill Burns, Bendigo

Furthermore

The PM says the gambling industry didn’t make a submission to the Senate online gambling inquiry. They didn’t need to. The big sporting codes did it for them.David Cayzer, Clifton Hill

Once again, Anthony Albanese is hedging his bets: just like any astute gambler.Chris Burgess, Port Melbourne

Australia has the biggest houses in the world. Until people regard them primarily as homes, rather than investments, this trend is likely to continue, even in a housing crisis.Bernd Rieve, Brighton

The Royal Commission into the Construction Industry means we might see some light at the end of the Metro tunnel.Ron Mather, Melbourne

America doesn’t want them. EU has anti-subsidy tariffs. Australia will become a dumping ground for Chinese overproduction of cars (“China was makingtoo many cars. They turned to Australia”, 21/8).Helena Kilingerova, Vermont

I wonder if even the Sydney players involved in the Melbourne incident can explain the ″brain fade″ that caused their behaviour on the eve of AFL finals.Marie Nash, Balwyn

When did “metrics” first pervade our language? What is wrong with “measures”? Do we really need a term which sounds scientific, but is no more than mere pretentious jargon?Graham Devries, Camberwell