One candidate was a no-show and another only signed up with the Victorian Electoral Commission a few hours earlier, but a roomful of Polwarth locals still turned up for an election forum held at Camperdown Golf Club on Thursday evening.
The setting: Golfers were completing their last holes as the majority of attendees arrived at once, only a few minutes prior to the beginning of the forum at 7pm.
The event was coordinated by the Victorian Farmer Federation (VFF). VFF has its own election campaign - “Back Victorian Farmers” - a five-point plan aimed at all parties, covering taxes, infrastructure, biosecurity, and farmland.
A total of about 40 Polwarth residents filled the room, with Corangamite Shire’s councillors making up most of the front row.
Liberal MP Richard Riordan has held a seat in the opposition for 11 years
The players: The event initially advertised Riordan, Labor candidate Hutch Hussein, One Nation candidate Anna Malcolm and Greens candidate Jesse Holden as the line-up for the evening’s forum.
Hussein, citing a prior commitment, was not in attendance on the night.
In a last-minute finalisation of paperwork with the Victorian Electoral Commission, Australian Citizens Party candidate Brenton Carbins joined the forum as well, having been made official a few hours prior.
The forum: Questions on the night ranged from road quality, health and education, what candidates would cut to recuperate government debts and gripes with the current government.
Victoria’s gas future? Speaking to the Brolga before the event, Liberal incumbent Richard Riordan said, if elected, the party would aim to explore for offshore gas near Port Campbell. He ruled out fracking on farmland in the region.
“The Victorian Constitution doesn't allow it … there's no desire for fracking … the gas reserves in Queensland, Northern Territory, and Western Australia are vast, and it's really a matter of getting that infrastructure in place that can share that around the nation.”
Polite debate: Greens candidate Jesse Holden and Riordan agreed renewables needed better rules around community consultation and giving locals more agency when projects are proposed.
“You can do a good thing badly,” said Holden. Riordan responded: “I didn’t think I was going to agree with you, but I agree with you on that.”
One Nation’s Anna Malcolm pledged the party would ban all new commercial renewable energy, continue using coal and gas and lift the moratorium on nuclear power, but would be “mad not to” use the renewables that are already in place.
No cash promises: Specific funding figures were hard to come by, with few numbers offered up from the candidates for any projects. In response to funding for roads, One Nation candidate Anna Malcolm likened it to a loan from the bank.
“A bank won't offer you a loan until they scour through your bank accounts. We will not make specific funding commitments until we actually see the books, because we really don't know how bad they are,” she said.
More services: The Brolga spoke to One Nation candidate Anna Malcolm at the forum’s conclusion, who said if elected, she would push for better mental health support in schools, more allied health services in Colac for NDIS participants, and more investment in schools in her first 100 days.
The public: Attendees listened quietly, with occasional low whispers between locals sitting next to each other, or the odd hum in agreement or intrigue.
When the floor opened to questions, the majority came from the councillors, while four questions came from members of the public, around controlled burns, data centres, and Treaty.
At the event’s conclusion, attendees departed as quickly as they left.