Legless cheetahs, cancerous growths in sausages and two candidates who didn't want to be photographed. Sunday's BREAZE pre-election forum - which was live-streamed on Facebook - covered all these topics and more. Just seven of Ripon, Wendouree and Eureka's 26 candidates made an appearance - while one supplied a written statement. The Ballarat music teacher said switching to a vegan diet was a cheaper and more effective way of reducing global greenhouse emissions than switching from coal- and gas-fired electricity. "It takes up a fraction of the land and resources," he said. "Just look at the elephant - or the cow - in the room." He said the Animal Justice Party had put candidates in every lower house seat - and all were vegan. He also described sausages as being full of animal offcuts, tumours and cancerous growths, causing members of the audience to wince. Mr Hills was also vocal about fishing as a sport and industry and cruelty to fish. RELATED COVERAGE: The Ballarat-born psychiatric nurse has stood in several elections, calling for better mental health care. The Napoleons man spoke about working in health, blood research and how a three-week stint helping out at Ballarat's former Lakeside Hospital turned into a long-term career. Mr Eckel said he had strong memories of the Enfield bushfires - and the community needed to be innovative to protect themselves from fire, with ideas such as roof-protecting water pumps. He also described the resilience and design of animals, saying a cheetah with its legs cut off could still run 10km/h. Ms Addison said Labor built the Tech School where the forum was held and funded solar panels for public buildings around Ballarat including CAFS and the Old Colonists Club. "We need our kids to be the best and brightest, to innovate, to change the ways of the past and think differently," she said. "We'll turbo-charge renewables. We'll have an SEC for all Victorians and we will have control over the price of our own power and electricity." She said Labor had banned fracking in 2014, had spent $35 million on improved fire breaks and had promised 100 community batteries for energy storage. "We are also going to cap train fares to Melbourne at $9.40 for a full fare. There'll be no need to hop in your car to go to Melbourne." The firefighter and former Ballarat councillor said he did not pretend to know everything, but would consult experts before making decisions. "I'll just say that you'll never find a climate sceptic on the end of a fire hose," the Sulky resident said. Mr Rigg said he supported sustainable logging and wanted more local knowledge put into planned burns. "The worst neighbour you can have in Victoria is crown land," he said. "It's great to announce new national parks but you need to follow it up with resources." He also spoke of the planning required before community batteries went in, to avoid a repeat of a Tesla battery fire that lasted almost a week near Geelong in July 2021. The Ararat-raised, Golden Point resident said he had done many volunteer roles including tree planting, CERT paramedic work and serving the Wendouree CFA as a junior. "My rent swallows up a third of my income and the Greens will limit rent rises," he said. "We will also do something about health - and fund additional (drug) rehabilitation beds and geriatric beds." He said Greens would also replace coal and gas-fired electricity with 100 per cent renewables by 2030. :The Greens would also ban any new homes being connected to gas - and we will guarantee jobs for people leaving the coal and gas industries." Ms Burns is the founder of Ballarat gluten-free and vegan snack food line 'We Bar None'. She spoke of her volunteer and environmental work including her involvement in an Environment Victorian leadership retreat and her role as the co-ordinator of Smart Living Ballarat, which was hosted by BREAZE. Ms Burns said she had spent two years building an off-grid solar-powered home. "The Greens are the only political party that has committed 100 per cent to stopping coal and gas immediately," she said. "Another thing we want to invest in is public transport. We would make it free for people under 21." Ms Sitters migrated from England to study and work as a scientist in Creswick. She said most of her work had involved the effects of bushfires on flora and fauna. "There is no economy on a dead planet and there are no jobs on a dead planet," she said. "Us humans are part of an interconnected system. "We don't need to eat animals." She said Victorians need to adjust to eating more plant-based proteins, to reduce pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from methane made by cattle and sheep.. Ms Maylett did not attend but a statement was read out by a staff member from Juliana Addison's office. She spoke of the flood emergencies in the Pyrenees Shire and Skipton. "I grew up in country Victoria. I have spoken about ending family violence and I want to do something to improve social housing," she wrote. "I'm running for Parliament to be a straight non-nonsense candidate for our community." Sunday's forum was on at the same time as the Ballarat Show. The candidates who did not take part from Ripon were: James Earl (Greens), Luke Smith (Shooters, Farmers, Fishers), Wren Wilson (Justice Party), Louise Staley (Liberal), Craig George (Family First) and Bernard Quince (Independent). Candidates who did not attend from Wendouree were Ian Harkness (Family First), Samantha McIntosh (Liberal) and Dianne Colbert (Labour DLP). Only one of 10 Eureka candidates was at the forum, which also clashed the Ballan Autumn Festival. Those who did not speak at the forum were Wendy Morrison (Animal Justice Party), Michaela Settle (ALP), Paul Tatchell (Liberal), Anthony Giampaolo (Freedom Party), Adrian Garcia (Family First), Tabitha Rickard (Labour DLP), Michael Ray (Independent), Nicola Reid (Independent) and Mark Banwell (Independent). Have you tried The Courier's app? It can be downloaded here.