Bent axles and broken trust: How potholes are firing a rebellion against Jacinta Allan

July 9, 2026 — 5:00am

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If it is regional Victoria that finally delivers a change in state government, the 2026 election will be remembered as the Pothole Rebellion.

We live in complex, difficult times. The planet is warming, AI will soon be writing this column, and as we reach the business end of the World Cup, who among us truly understands the offside rule?

Yet, in towns and regional centres where a well-maintained ribbon of bitumen remains an essential connection between home and work and family and friends and school and healthcare and most other things, there is no more pressing problem than potholes.

As the saying made famous by Muhammad Ali goes, it isn’t the mountain ahead that wears you down, it’s the pebble in your shoe. Every blown tyre isn’t a calamity but walk into the front bar of any pub in any regional town, and see how long it takes for someone to start grumbling about the state of the roads.

A couple of nights ago at the Wodonga RSL, a bloke sidled up to my table and said by way of introduction that he’d spent $8000 this year on tyres and replacement rims for his Ford Ranger.

David Rice, a former sign writer, explained that’s the cost so far from the times he’s come a cropper on the Swiss-cheesed major highways that run between Wodonga and Melbourne, Shepparton and Yarrawonga.

"We're not talking back........

© The Age