‍DR ANNE WEBSTER MP

SHADOW MINISTER FOR REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT, LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND TERRITORIES
SHADOW MINISTER FOR REGIONAL COMMUNICATIONS

FEDERAL MEMBER FOR MALLEE

TOPICS: 

Prime Minister and Hamas propaganda, Palestinian statehood, road user charges, heavy vehicles, EV and renewable energy subsidies

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KENNY  

Let's get back into national politics now and catch up with Anne Webster, who's the Shadow Minister for Regional Development. She's the member for Mallee in Victoria, but she joins us from Port Macquarie in New South Wales tonight. Good to talk to you, Anne. I've got to get your thoughts on the latest shenanigans with Anthony Albanese trying to admonish the media for repeating Hamas propaganda when that's pretty much all we've heard from him these past 22 months.

WEBSTER  

Well, it's really quite extraordinary Chris, isn't it? He's ‘not a cheerleader for Hamas’. Well, you know, if you look like it, if you sound like it, maybe you actually are. And I think that he's been very happy to present the views of Hamas and not question photos, not question the stories. And now, of course, it's in his favour to say, ‘Please don't believe what you read from Hamas, but Yusuf is actually in jail, and you know, his office is making up their own stories.’ I don't know what he thinks, but if he's not a cheerleader, he's certainly learning some dance moves to try and take away his responsibility as the Prime Minister of Australia to represent Australians, and the decision he has made with Penny Wong to validate Palestinian statehood will not make one iota of difference to the hostages, to the people in Gaza who are suffering without the amount of aid that they need due to Hamas being in power. You know, these are things that are not going away because he's making what is really a localised political statement on the world stage.

KENNY  

Yeah, let's bring it back to your portfolio area now, regional development in this country. Your electorate of Mallee is, of course, in regional Australia, and you have been connecting with regional Australia again in Port Macquarie of course: one of the new changes that could get a kick along in this economic summit next week is road user charges and a plan to bring it in, firstly, with heavy vehicles. Isn't this another hit that's going to attack regional Australia ahead of the rest of the country?

WEBSTER  

Well, you know, heavy vehicle users bring products to port. They bring product to markets. They allow us to eat, and our heavy vehicle users need to be supported, not punished. You know, I think that the idea of subsidies being taken away from EV drivers and taxes being applied to EV drivers would actually make far more difference to what it means to live across Australia more broadly, it just seems to me that Labor are so intent on ensuring that their urban electorates are looked after and they have no idea what goes on out in the regions.

KENNY  

That's a good point, rather than trying to impose new taxes to make up for the lack of petrol, taxes on EVs - just get rid of all those subsidies and tax breaks that they now give to them?

WEBSTER  

Wouldn't that be a good idea? honestly, if we just had some transparency about the subsidies that the Labor government has endorsed and is pushing through for EV drivers, for the renewable industry, industry itself, I think Australians would be pretty horrified at the money that we are pouring down the drain for an ideology - let's face it, that's what it is - and targets that are, frankly, not reachable. Everyday Australians, and Australians out in the regions, are the ones who ultimately suffer.

KENNY

Anne Webster, thanks for joining us, appreciate it. Anne Webster, there live from Port Macquarie in New South Wales, she's the Shadow Minister for Regional Development.

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