Shadow Minister for Regional Health, Shadow Minister for Regional Communications - Member for Mallee - Interview - News24 'Kenny' with Chris Kenny- Thursday 6 October 2026

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‍DR ANNE WEBSTER MP

SHADOW MINISTER FOR REGIONAL HEALTH

SHADOW MINISTER FOR REGIONAL COMMUNICATIONS

FEDERAL MEMBER FOR MALLEE

TOPICS: immigration, migration, economy, working holiday, visa fees, ag visa

Kenny  

Now I want to move on to domestic issues and this immigration debate. I'm joined by the Shadow Regional Health Minister Anne Webster in rural Victoria, or are you still in Parliament House? In Parliament House, anyway.

Webster  

No, in Victoria.

Kenny  

Oh, you got home. You got home already. Fantastic. Now tell me about these drastic cuts to immigration. Tell me why they won't hurt the economy. Surely there's going to be a dramatic economic impact when you cut immigration way back to 100,000 a year.

Webster  

Well, we will be cutting it over a period of four years, as you know, Chris, and that is absolutely necessary because Labor have had our borders wide open and have increased our population by 1.5 million people, that is a problem for our economy because we don't have the houses, we don't have the services, we don't have the hospitals. There are a whole range of reasons why Labor's migration mess is actually hurting all Australians as well. So Angus Taylor, under a Taylor and Canavan government, which I'm really pleased is now out there, we will be cutting migration, but we will be taking migration to where it is needed. Out here in the regions, of course, we've just been through an absolute disaster under Labor, where they've cut working holiday makers right at the time of harvest, right at the time where tourists are needed and will be coming in Queensland. So the working holiday makers will not be touched. We will remove the ballot that Labor have just put on it.

Kenny  

Instead of having a ballot and a cap, you provide a really good incentive. That is, the longer you stay, the higher your visa fee goes up. But if you want to get rid of that fee, if you want to cut those costs, go and work in the regions. Do you think that people will take that up?

Webster  

Look, absolutely. A $500 fee if you want to come in on year one, another $500 fee for year two. That's all fine and well for those who want to go to the cities, and a lot of people do. But if you don't want to pay those fees, then coming out to the regions is absolutely for you. And we have people who come back year after year to work on our harvesters and our combines, you know, multi-million-dollar equipment, and these people are skilled. They come from the northern hemisphere. They come down to the southern hemisphere for our harvest. Go back for theirs in the north at that time. So it's a really important change that we will be making. The other point that I really want to make, Chris, is that we will be reintroducing the ag visa that was cut under Labor in 2022. We introduced it in March 2022, Labor cut it in September 2022. That is an incredibly important visa, and I am really pleased that we will be bringing it back for our regions. It's just so needed.

Kenny  

But when you're talking about cutting 650,000 temporary visas, how is that not going to impact on the labour market? How is that not going to leave some businesses light on for labour?

Webster  

Well, the what's going to be happening is that those student overstayers will be gone, and  the universities that rely entirely on international students for their money tree will have to rethink their business model. I don't think that's a problem. Julian Leeser is working on the finer details of that at the moment, but we want people out in the regions. We want to have a fair spread of our migrants to come into Australia, not just to go to the cities, but to come out to our regions. So temporary migration is important; it has its place. Protection visas - if you want to come as an asylum, we're going to be cutting that number from 20,000 back to 10,000 again, and you need to apply for your protection visa in 30 days. I don't think that's unreasonable, or you lose your work rights. It’s very complicated, the whole thing.

Kenny  

Yeah, it sure is. It's a complex area, and that's why you've put out a detailed policy. The numbers are out there. The detail is out there. It's great because this is the number one issue around the country with so many people. So the debate can now happen. Bring it on! I say. Thanks for joining us, Anne. I appreciate it. Anne Wester there from The Nationals on this immigration debate, which is going to be so central not just to politics, but to the future of this country. Everybody admits that we've been bringing in too many immigrants. Even Labor say they're trying to reduce it. It's all about how and the numbers.

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