As one of the 10 candidates in Indi’s election race, Mr Quilty was not well known to voters yet, but introduced an attitude of being a “believer in freedoms”.

The party had a policy to repeal section 18c of the Racial Discrimination Act, which prevented people saying anything likely “to offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate”.

Moderator Jon Faine asked if Mr Quilty meant it was fine for people to offend each other based on race or sexual orientation.

“Being offended doesn’t hurt you – you get over it, we’re adults now,” he said.

The comments prompted a member of the audience to yell out “Tim, you’re a goose”.

But in the spirit of free speech, Mr Quilty took the heckle with a smile as the crowd laughed and said it was completely fine.

“We’ll fight against political correctness – we’ll let you say what you think without being afraid,” he said.

“We will never vote for a reduction in liberty … we stand for real liberal values.”

The candidate also promised the Liberal Democrats would balance the budget and remove the deficit by cutting government waste such as welfare for “the rich” who did not need the money.

Liberal Sophie Mirabella gave her personal support for Sunday penalty rates, but said the federal government was just one group making a submission to the Productivity Commission.

“I understand that source of income … I get the need for penalty rates, but in the end it’s not a decision for government,” she said.

Jenny O’Connor also stated she was preferencing Cathy McGowan number two on her ballot, but pointed out the ways the pair were different, such as her opposition to a plebiscite on marriage equality.

Nine out of Indi’s 10 candidates attended the forum at the Wangaratta Performing Arts Centre –only Rise Up Australia’s Vincent Ferrando did not attend due to car issues.

A place was set for him on stage and Mr Faine hoped he might attend until a message came through more than an hour into the forum.

“The party said that since he was new, he shouldn’t speak much anyway,” Mr Faine said, reading the message.