Shadow Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories - Shadow Minister for Regional Communications- Transcript - Interview ABC Radio Mildura -Swan Hill - 20 October 2025

DR ANNE WEBSTER MP

SHADOW MINISTER FOR REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT, LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND TERRITORIES

SHADOW MINISTER FOR REGIONAL COMMUNICATIONS

FEDERAL MEMBER FOR MALLEE

TRANSCRIPT

TOPICS:  The Nationals, Barnaby Joyce, Regional Television coverage

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Murphy

In a move that has rippled through the political landscape and the news cycle over the weekend, Barnaby Joyce has announced that he will not recontest his seat of New England at the next federal election. Once a prominent figure in The Nationals, serving multiple times as Deputy Prime Minister and federal leader of the party, Joyce cited irreparable broken-down relationship with his party's leadership as key to his departure. His decision comes amid a backdrop of internal divisions within the Coalition, tensions over climate policy and questions about his next political move, with speculation that a shift to One Nation may be on the table. So it seems befitting this morning to take this discussion over to The Nationals’ Dr Anne Webster, our federal member for Mallee in Victoria. Good morning, Anne.

Webster

Good morning, Ben. How are you?

Murphy

Yeah, well, thank you. Anne, what's your reaction to the Barnaby Joyce news?

Webster

Well, clearly I was very disappointed. We have been discussing very passionately in The Nationals’ party room the net zero issue. I've been very vocal myself about the damage to our regional areas and particularly farming land and of course native forests but it's a process and David Littleproud has made very clear, we are waiting on Ross Cadell and Matt Canavan to complete their research. This is what happens when you have, you know, 20 people in a party room. You have to have a strategic and a balanced and a good process in order to come to an agreement as a party. We can't just have people passionately going off their trees about an issue and suddenly we change policy direction. That's not helpful to the Australian people. It's not helpful to our regional centres in particular. We take everything into consideration. Every person in that party room has the opportunity to speak and we do and we debate and we make sure our views are heard and that is a process that Barnaby has been part of. So to find that he's not patient enough over this next two months - I would suggest, period - to come to the end of the net zero discussion in The Nationals’ party room is disappointing. I value Barnaby enormously. He is a fantastic politician. I don't necessarily agree with everything that he says. However, he probably doesn't agree with everything I say. So I think it's really healthy in our democracy to have people with strong views who come together and argue for their region. I think New England will be pretty disappointed that he is going to step away at this next election two years from now, mind you.

Murphy

So do you think it might be just a case of having his nose a bit pushed out of joint, as he says, and the atmospherics in the party room where I'm seated in the far corner of the Coalition in the chamber means I'm seen and now turning into discordant note? Or did he have no other choice from his point of view?

Webster

Well, look, I mean, Barnaby alone can answer that. I've sat, obviously, as a backbencher. That's where we start. We are not in leadership positions. Barnaby has provided great leadership for our party when he was Deputy PM through a difficult time, and he would say that himself when Net Zero was actually first brought in. And, you know, Michael McCormack is in the same position, and I think it's got to be very difficult to step away from being the Deputy Prime Minister to giving others a go, basically, which is, you know, you've got a large - David Littleproud has a large - party room, and Sussan Ley even larger, and to find your leaders to give people a go can't happen if everyone keeps the same … I hope that's clear, it's just … it's very difficult.  Nobody's got an easy job here but I for one am very grateful to have the opportunity to step into shadow ministry as I am now and I think everybody who is given that privilege works very hard and tirelessly to ensure we come up with the best policies for regional Australia.

Murphy

We're speaking with Dr Anne Webster this morning at a quarter to nine about Barnaby Joyce announcing that he will not recontest his seat of New England at the next federal election and Barnaby's hinted at the possibility of aligning with One Nation – do you think that's realistic? And would that damage or strengthen the Nationals' position?

Webster

Look, I think One Nation obviously is a different party. And Pauline Hanson has been a strong leader for One Nation. What Barnaby chooses to do now is entirely up to him. Of course, he's a free agent. He can choose like we all can. Frankly, I think The Nationals have a very balanced - I think we've proven we have a pragmatic and common-sense - approach to policy, which has done a lot of good when we are in government. Our focus now is to get back into government and hold the current Labor government to account who are really ignoring and leaving the regions behind in an appalling way whether it's roads, whether it's health, it doesn't matter what subject you're talking about, the regions are suffering under Labor, and I want to see that change. I don't think Pauline Hanson will ever be in government, and it is imperative that good conservative governments have a go and can be seen as a legitimate alternative. So that's what I'm focused on.

Murphy

I know that's what The Nationals are focused on and we've just got a lot of work to do between now and the next election. you ever think there's a possibility that a coalition,  with One Nation joining, could be an option?

Webster

Well it's not a subject that I have any power to influence. It's certainly not been raised with me. I know there are plenty who say not on your life. So I can't see the tea leaves. I don't know whether you can see it, but I certainly can't see the tea leaves. I think that the Liberal National Party is doing some hard work at the moment, as has been expressed by a lot of individual MPs. It's a bit, you know, ugly in the public space. I don't like that. I would prefer to all happen in the party room to have these debates out and to come to a position and for people to honour the status of the party, that is incredibly important. We can't make a dint of difference in opposition, though a lot of people think we can. All we can do is hold the Labor government to account and I would prefer to be in power where we can actually change and improve the course and trajectory of people's lives in the regions.

Murphy

Whenever you've got a party like The Nationals and one person decides to step out or rock the boat a little bit, it causes maybe a little bit of uneasiness within the party itself. Has there been other internal discussions about other members, maybe even yourself, considering a shift to One Nation, or is that just political noise?

Webster

No, I think it's political noise. I think The Nationals are certainly not rocked. David Littleproud is not rocked. I spoke to him over the weekend. I've spoken with Bridget McKenzie over the weekend. I've spoken with other colleagues over the weekend, as we do. Where are we sitting? How is this being managed? It's just part of of politics. You've got to be able to stand firm as a party. We do, we are and we will continue to do that.

Murphy

Before we go, we had a question from one listener that just wants to know, he said last year we lost Channel 10 in Mildura when Channel 7 was taken away in other locations including one just north of us. The member there got straight onto it and they reversed the decision. He wants to know why you didn't do that for our loss of Channel 10.

Webster

Well, to clarify, and I'm happy to send that person the media releases, the information about the phone calls and the contact, the meetings that I had with Free TV, for example, the CEO of Free TV. They have no intention and I will continue to push them as regional comms is my responsibility, to ensure that we get our television stations. The interesting part here is that Free TV is a commercial operation, so it's been a commercial decision. They are not getting the funding or the money in this region here in Sunraysia. They are not getting the funding for advertising to make them viable. I argue with them that that's when the market is broken, that, you know, that's the time when the government needs to step in. And I have made contact with the Comms minister about that and there was no movement at all. So, you know, I wish I had the magic wand. I don't have a magic wand. It's a complicated issue. I met with many Free TV and other commercial broadcasters in Sydney recently about this very issue, and I'll continue to speak about it because regional Australians should not be left behind in black holes, whether it's mobile tower black spots or whether it is TV.

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