Shadow Minister for Regional Health, Shadow Minister for Regional Communications - Member for Mallee - Transcript - Sky News - Paul Murray Live with James Macpherson- - Wednesday 22 April 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 crisis and fuel security, immigration and assimilation, Australian values, Farrer by-election, protest votes, NDIS reform

MACPHERSON

Well, joining me now is Shadow Regional Development Minister Anne Webster. Anne, thanks for coming on the program. I always enjoy our chats. Tell me, am I being too cynical when it comes to the government's handling of the fuel crisis?

WEBSTER

No, I think you're superb, frankly. I think Australians are being treated as mugs. by the Prime Minister and that is incredibly unfortunate because Australians are thinking people who are living their lives with a lot of instability. And yes, the Iran war is happening, we all know it is, but they've been in government for four years now. They've had plenty of opportunity to change their direction and change their path. And they haven't. And we are on a hiding to nowhere in terms of fuel, in terms of gas, in terms of oil drilling and also production. So, I know that Crisafulli in Queensland is waiting for that phone call from the Prime Minister to say, we're right with you and we'll support you with the Taroom Trough. But, you know, nothing's happening.

MACPHERSON

What do you think when you watch these press conferences where we've got the Energy Minister, we've got the Prime Minister, we've got Matt Thistlethwaite, they're all standing there with a grand announcement of two extra days of fuel. I mean, when you watch that, what do you think?

WEBSTER

Well, I feel embarrassed. I don't know whether that's about ‘think’, but I certainly ‘feel’ embarrassed. This is the leadership of our country and they're bragging about two days of fuel, or three days if you count last week as well. So, a lot more days in a month and three. So I'm hanging out for the next instalment and I don't know that the Prime Minister's got one.

MACPHERSON

Well, Anne, I think you must be the only person in the country who's hanging out for the next press conference that the Prime Minister is having. I'm sure you were being facetious. Please tell me you were.

WEBSTER

I am.

MACPHERSON

Hey, it would cost, I think, $20 billion over four years to make sure we've got the recommended 90 days’ worth of fuel reserves. What's that, five billion dollars a year over four years? Can you understand why the government has not announced already that they will do that?

WEBSTER

Well, fundamentally they're really opposed - ideologically they're opposed - to fossil fuels, we know that, by their green dream and Chris Bowen was on his left on my screen. And standing there, frankly, looking embarrassed himself, I thought. I was watching his face. And so, they're opposed, ideologically, to fossil fuels. But they've also got a very bad budget coming up, and things are not looking any better any sooner. So, inflation continues to rise. There is, you know, an expectation that we'll have another rate rise soon. And what have they got to show for it? They're trying to cut back on everything, including NDIS and aged care and, you know, the things that they would prefer to be putting a lot more money into. And I don't think they have the answers. I think you said it perfectly when you said they're very good with the headlines, and I agree with you. Labor are very good with their marketing and their headlines. They're really bad at governing Australia, and I wish Australians would understand that.

MACPHERSON

If we could have a government that would govern like the Coalition would, but advertise like Labor do, I reckon we'd be doing okay. Immigration Minister Tony Burke told SBS today that he doesn't want migrants who come to Australia to assimilate. You heard me correctly, he doesn't want migrants to assimilate. No assimilation, I found that absolutely astonishing. Have a listen to his remarks.

BURKE

I've never accepted the word assimilation. I don't want people to lose who they are. The word integration is one that's being used as part of a multicultural dialogue for a very long time. And that's what it is, like, we want people for who they are. I've never subscribed to that sort of melting pot concept that your whole identity is meant to be dissolved.

MACPHERSON

And if migrants don't assimilate into Australian culture, what do they integrate into, a welfare system, an economic system? Tony Burke's vision, if you run it to its logical conclusion, results in dozens of different cultures that share nothing more than roads and infrastructure. That's not a country, that's a share house.

WEBSTER

Yeah, absolutely true. Well said again. I went through university as a social work training and sociology training before I did my PhD in sociology. The multiculturalism concept, the concept around integration was... I want to say hammered into us. It was the only one that was acceptable at university. That's problematic in itself - and a conversation for another day. Assimilation was perceived in those environments at university to be saying to people, well, you just have to take off all the colour and life of who you are, come to Australia and put it all away, forget where you came from, and become Australian - when you really don't know what Australian is. I think that when we look back on the Italians and the Greeks, you know, those in the ‘50s and ‘60s who came here, and there are a lot in my electorate, they came here because they wanted and embraced what Australia was. It was a free country. It had democratic values. People were free to have their religion for sure. But it's a peaceful place. It was a place where a place where they could live and let live in many respects. And I think what we've got now is Burke is implying to me that he's afraid to say those dreadful words, Islamic extremism, like … it's really just pre-Bondi all over again and it's a failure to say that certain things are unacceptable here. Anti-Semitism is unacceptable here. And they've got to be things that are stated very clearly up front. You want to come to Australia, then those particular beliefs of extremism, anti-Semitism, violence, no sense of equality between men and women, all the things that we enjoy in Australia, then you've got to, you know, you shouldn't come if you can't accept those things.

MACPHERSON

It's funny talking about that because Andrew Leigh, another government minister, he tweeted today, ‘walking away from a non-discrimination immigration policy isn't strength, it's insecurity’. But I mean, you discriminate who you allow into your own home. Why wouldn't you discriminate who you allow into your country? That's not insecurity. That's just wisdom, is it not?

WEBSTER

I absolutely agree with you. And in fact, I have the same views regarding my social platforms. I view them as effectively people coming into my space. And if you behave nicely, if you behave respectfully, you can stay. But if you don't, see ya, bye. And I think that we have a right, whether it's in our own home or whether it's our country. If we don't stick up for who we are, if we don't value and lift who we are as Australians, then who's going to do it? Nobody is. And we will be overrun by other cultures. And it's not to say we don't learn from those cultures, frankly, if we didn't have the Italians, where would our coffee be? I don't know. And so many other cultures that come to Australia and have made Australia richer. Nobody is saying that that's not true. But we must uphold the values that we have as Australians.

MACPHERSON

Yeah, absolutely. Alright, I want to talk to you about the Farrer by-election. It's just 17 days away and I guess it'll be a litmus test to see where the major parties are at because... I mean, the polling is just fascinating at the moment. I guess we're all trying to wait to see where the chips fall. You were in Albury today. What's the feeling there on the ground?

WEBSTER

Oh, look, the people that we speak to and, you know, health is, it's in my portfolio, regional, shadow Regional Health Minister. So, the hospital situation at Albury-Wodonga is a massive issue, not just for Albury-Wodonga, but for the surrounding area. Labor governments at state and federal level have absolutely let them down. There is no two ways about it. And water is a major issue. And understanding that, you approach the people of Albury, Wodonga and surrounds with those issues front of mind. Now, I'm fully aware of the polls. We're all aware of the polls. And we like to say it's only one poll, election day, that actually counts. But the fact of the matter is that, you know, One Nation and the Independent are certainly high on people's agenda. And I think that comes down to their frustration, their flat-out anger at how Labor have been treating them over the last four years. They feel frustrated. We had COVID. My first Parliament, we had COVID. It was not a pretty time. It was an ugly time and plenty of people have got PTSD from it. I'm probably one of them myself. But the fact is that the Coalition had a tough time trying to manage the economy, trying to manage people's lockdowns, the state's behaviours. The overreach in Victoria was appalling, another subject for another day. And, you know, so they're angry. People are angry. And I can understand that protest vote to One Nation or to a Teal. But the fact of the matter is that the Coalition and Labor are the governing governments. They're the ones who've got the experience on the ground. And the Coalition is turning around from a difficult, you know, year or two, and I believe, particularly the Nationals, best represent our regional areas. And people are warm. They're friendly about that. But there's also a lot of movement to One Nation in particular, I think.

MACPHERSON

All right, just before we go to a break, I want to get a quick comment from you regarding Health Minister Mark Butler's speech at the Press Club today, announcing 760,000 people currently accessing the NDIS. will all have their eligibility reassessed by the start of 2028 in a bid to reduce the number of per takers and the amount of money being spent. Just briefly, what were your thoughts? Did you like what he said? And do you think Labor have got the courage to actually make the hard decisions?

WEBSTER

Well, it's a start, isn't it? These are people's lives. Let's state that right up front. There are 760,000 people whose lives are somewhat dependent on the NDIS all to different degrees. But there are many, arguably, that perhaps could be better in a different program. That's for the Labor government to sort out, because they opened the doors wide on this. It is their failure. But I absolutely believe, as the Coalition has come out and said today, James, that rorts and mismanagement are also a key part of the problem. I've said all along, my personal view is every provider should be registered, every provider, not 6 per cent of providers, which is what is the case right now. The system needs to change because taxpayers are paying for it and it must have outcomes. that work, work for the individuals, but also work for Australia's tax system. There are only so many dollars to go round.

MACPHERSON

Yep, absolutely. Anne Webster, it's always a delight to chat. Thanks so much for coming on the program tonight.

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