Shadow Minister for Regional Health, Shadow Minister for Regional Communications - Member for Mallee - Transcript - Sky News - Thursday 26 March 2026

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‍DR ANNE WEBSTER MP

SHADOW MINISTER FOR REGIONAL HEALTH

SHADOW MINISTER FOR REGIONAL COMMUNICATIONS

FEDERAL MEMBER FOR MALLEE

TOPICS:  Fuel shortage, regional impacts, cropping choices, food security, fuel distribution, Premiers calling for national response, seasonal fuel demand in regions

Kenny  

Let's go to Canberra now and catch up with the Shadow Minister for Regional Health and Communications. Anne Webster, good to talk to you again. Anne, the fuel crisis. How is it in your neck of the woods in North Western Victoria?

Webster  

It is really tough. Chris, we've got horticulturists, citrus growers, who are really thinking it's not going to be viable to pick their crop and send it to the market. They've got agents down at the market who are saying, We can't buy your fruit to sell to shops because it'll be too high and consumers won't buy it, and so the farmers are price takers, as we know, and they will be left, literally, high and dry with fruits and vegetables left in the ground or on the tree. I've got cropping farmers in the Horsham area. I've had them writing to me, they're walking around the yards at 2am in the morning, completely distressed that they cannot get the fuel in order to sow their crops, and they're having to make decisions. In fact, I spoke to somebody very knowledgeable half an hour ago who said to me that one in three farmers is his estimation, choosing to plant different crops, such as vetch and lentils, which don't require nitrogen as much as wheat and barley, higher value crops, arguably, but they can't put them in because there is no fuel security and there is no fertiliser security. So it is having a huge impact, and that, of course, will have the roll-on effect of going into our supermarkets, where there will be shortages of vegetables, shortages of fruit, and people won't be able to afford to will buy them, to buy them anyway. This is a very serious situation that Labor have got us into in terms of their management. And Chris, I said in the House today that if gaslighting was an energy source, Labor could light up the nation, while we fall into the abyss of their incompetence. It has been awful - and to have so many people out in the regions, really in a desperate way, I've spoken to fuel providers out in the region, one who is a massive provider in my area, 65 per cent of his distribution is out to farmers. He is on contracts. And I say that very deliberately. He's on contracts. He's getting 65 per cent he's getting between 800,000 to 1 million litres a day. He needs 1,800,000 litres a day in order to serve the community in its needs. They're from the big boys, so they’re contracts. On March the 3rd, Chris Bowen said in the House that he would be expecting - ‘expecting’ was his word - he would be expecting the big supplies. And he's told them he's had a conversation, had a chat, and said that he would be expecting them to get the fuel out to the regions. Well, you know what, mate, it's actually not happening.

Kenny  

Yeah, meetings don't actually cut it. The thing is that even the Labor premier of your own state of Victoria admits there's a problem. Here's Jacinta Allan:

Allan

We do need that - continue to see that need, to see that nationally coordinated approach, particularly and we hope this doesn't happen, but if it does continue, the situation does deteriorate. We need to be ready with that national response.

Kenny  

Now the New South Wales Premier, Chris Minns, is also concerned about this. I just don't get it. The Prime Minister is sort of angry that people are suggesting there's a problem here and not attributing it at all to the war. Yet, Chris Bowen, the man charged with fixing this, keeps telling us that there is plenty of fuel in this country. If there's plenty of fuel, then how are so many petrol stations running dry and so many industries and businesses like you, say, landowners and farmers not able to get the fuel they need to run their businesses?

Webster  

Absolutely, I've got people who are telling me that they're not going to their health appointments. I mean, this is serious. They're not going to their health appointments because they can't get fuel to put in their car to go see the doctor. Because, you know, as we've spoken about on many occasions, the workforce for health out in the regions is dismally bad, and so people have to travel. They have to travel to go and get their health appointments and their health checks. They can't put fuel in because there is no fuel. There is no fuel. So, he insists that there is fuel going out to the regions as a priority. I'm sorry that is not happening. And the other point that I would make is that he quoted today, that March 2025, there was, I can't remember how many millions of litres it was in the system and in terms of distribution, in March 2026 there is more fuel in the system, and people are just using too much. Well, you know what? It's been raining, Chris, it's actually been raining. Farmers want to sow a crop this year. They couldn't necessarily do that last year. So the complications are there that they just ....

Kenny  

Labor, they wouldn't understand that. They wouldn't understand that and the need to get your crop in when you've had some decent rain. Thanks for joining us. Anne.

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