Applause breaks, heckles and hard lines: What went down at the Wannon election forum

Eight candidates vying for the federal seat of Wannon faced off last night at Deakin University’s Warrnambool campus, fielding questions on everything from housing and climate to roads, tax reform, and the cost of living.

With over 100 questions from the community submitted through an interactive Q&A and polling platform, the event was a rare opportunity for voters to hear directly from those vying to represent them — and for candidates to prove they could rise above party lines and political noise.

Yet, by the end of the evening, a live audience poll suggested that while the two hour uninterrupted discussion was robust, minds remained largely unchanged, with 89 percent of respondents saying the forum didn’t alter their vote.

What did emerge, however, was a vivid portrait of the region’s challenges and the vastly different visions competing to address them. 

Topics ranged from housing affordability and road maintenance to climate policy, tax reform, and the future of live animal export. Candidates were also asked what Wannon should look like in 10 years, prompting everything from pragmatic infrastructure proposals to ideological manifestos.

How the candidates stacked up

Independent Alex Dyson earned the most applause of the night for comparing the Coles-Woolworths grocery duopoly to the political status quo while discussing cost of living challenges. 

Though charismatic, his seeming reluctance to take a hard line on certain issues – instead stressing his desire to consult with community and experts – did frustrate some members of the crowd, at one point drawing a heckle of “yes or no!” from one crowd member while answering a question about offshore wind farms.

Still, Dyson’s message of listening to experts and locals struck a chord, as heckling aside it was a guaranteed applause starter. His focus on TAFE, local housing construction, and empowering rural healthcare through regional training also drew favour from the crowd.

Greens candidate Kate Gazzard delivered policy pitches that were very much in line with the national Greens stance, weaving climate action into nearly every response. She advocated for 50-cent public transport, free dental and mental healthcare under Medicare, a rental freeze, phasing out negative gearing, and stronger regulation of corporate landlords.

Dan Tehan, the sitting Liberal MP since 2010, presented himself as a seasoned figure, literally standing up for every question while others remained seated throughout the evening.

Tehan rejected a carbon tax and aligned himself with many of the Coalition’s election promises, calling for a halving of the fuel tax (for 12 months), and suggested Australians be allowed to use their superannuation to purchase a first home. He pushed for greater transparency around road funding and touted a beer excise freeze as part of his cost-of-living relief plan.

Independent Bernardine Atkinson steered most answers toward her central platform: nuclear energy. She dismissed offshore wind farms, advocated for nuclear-powered desalination, and pitched a national service model that included "mothering allowances", paid surf lifesaving, and rail investment. She called for the abolition of university fees and claimed Australia’s tax burden was already too high to entertain a carbon tax.

Labor’s Fiona Mackenzie kept her focus on roads and manufacturing, supporting offshore wind farms and offering tax relief to every taxpayer as a path to economic resilience. But her tendency to interrupt the moderator with what seemed to be pre-planned canned responses — jumping in a couple of times before the question had even finished — was hard to ignore.

One Nation’s Leo Curtain rounded out the panel with hardline positions: no new wind farms, no carbon tax, and no foreign ownership of Australian farmland. He voiced strong support for live animal exports and proposed abolishing GST on building materials and insurance premiums to tackle the housing crisis. Though his platform was uncompromising, it did resonate with small segments of the audience.

Despite the strong opinions and heated debate, the real decision still lies ahead. The federal election will be held on Saturday, May 3, but early voting is already underway. If you can’t make it on the day, you’ve got options — early voting centres are open, and postal vote applications close on April 30. 

For more info on where to vote or how to apply for a postal vote, head to aec.gov.au. 

With issues this big on the table, it’s worth having your say.