Jon Faine broadcasts from Torquay

MELBOURNE morning radio came to Torquay last week, with ABC Melbourne presenter Jon Faine grilling the Corangamite candidates at the Torquay Bowls Club on Friday.

A capacity crowd of about 250 people squeezed into the bowls club on The Esplanade to hear Mr Faine put his own questions and those from the audience to incumbent Liberal MP Sarah Henderson and Labor challenger Libby Coker (who were on air simultaneously), independent candidate Damien Cole and Greens contender Simon Northeast.

Mr Faine fired pointed questions at all candidates, including asking Ms Henderson about the lack of Liberal Party branding on many of her corflutes and asking Ms Coker why her campaign requested a public meeting in Torquay be held off the record.

Ms Henderson’s responses to questions were loudly booed by the crowd three times, leading her to quip “I think we might have a slightly stacked audience here”, which was also booed.

Mr Cole said one of his policies if he won would be introducing a “parks pass” for the Otways.

“Anyone coming down the Great Ocean Road or going into the Otways has to pay for the pass; any kind of interstate or international visitors.

“It happens all over the world and the important thing about this is that the money is not going to go back to Canberra, it’s going to go straight into a conservation fund.”

Surf Coast Shire mayor Rose Hodge (who Mr Faine referred to as “Rosie” four times) and Greater Torquay Alliance president Andrew Cherubin were interviewed together, during which Mr Faine expressed scepticism about why Torquay needed a pool, given its lengthy coastline – “To be honest, I don’t get it” – and the low-development attitude expressed by some.

“Is that the feeling, ladies and gentlemen: we’re here but now no-one else can come?” he asked the crowd, which received a muted response, “Oh, that went down really, really well, didn’t it?

But that’s effectively what you want… if someone had said that 20 years ago, most of you people here wouldn’t have been able to come to Torquay, would you?”

Mr Cherubin disagreed. “That’s not what we’re after – we’re after planning control. It’d be nice if VCAT didn’t overturn every decision the community makes,” he said.