The pair said there was potential for the Nicholls electorate to be left without a voice if an independent candidate were to be elected to represent the region in federal parliament.
More than 100 people packed Poppies at the Moama RSL for the forum and many watched the forum from a live Facebook feed on the Riverine Herald website.
It was hard to decide a winner on the night, as candidates spent only a few minutes introducing themselves before being allocated only one minute to answer nine broad questions that were posed by the forum’s mediator, Nathan Bibby.
Both Mr Birrell and Mr Brooks, who will represent the National and Liberal parties at the election, underlined the opinion that a federal member not aligned to a party would not be able to achieve an outcome for the electorate.
And it seems like the message will be a constant through the campaigning period, as the major parties continue to stress what they see as the inability of an independent to obtain results for the electorate.
The pair also sold their country upbringing — Mr Birrell is from Murchison and Mr Brooks is from Cobram — as an example of their understanding of the issues in the Nicholls electorate.
Mr Birrell cited the new Echuca-Moama bridge as a reflection of the work that the National party, as a Coalition member, could achieve for Nicholls.
“The bridge just would not have happened without the Nationals,” he said.
“There are countless examples of the clout of the Nationals, and a Coalition government is needed in Nicholls.”
Mr Brooks said feedback from his travels through the electorate had indicated voters were not prepared to vote for someone who didn’t understand the area.
“It’s not good enough to whack on Blundstone boots and a big hat, then say I get regional Victoria,” he said.
Mr Brooks said he knew how important it was for the Nicholls electorate to be represented in a government that could achieve solutions.
“You can only find a solution in a party, only parties can form a government and only parties can get results,” he said.
Rob Priestly, a highly visible independent candidate in the early stages of the campaigning process, will officially launch what already seems to have been a lengthy promotional period on Friday evening in Shepparton.
He was strong in his view that an independent would not be tied to party politics and could reflect more accurately the goals of constituents, rather than answering to the party room.
“This election is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for the people of Nicholls to be heard,” Mr Priestly said.
“Typically, the member for Nicholls has been in a very safe seat, so much so that one party doesn’t even try to win the seat.”
Mr Priestly said he would be making decisions on the basis of what people told him, not what he was told by a party.
"Each decision I make I want to be able to look people in the eye and say I made these decisions in the best interest of my constituents,“ he said.
“As an independent we can be the middle of the discussion for the next three years, not on the outside.”
