Member for Mallee - Transcript - Sky News 'Sharri' with James Macpherson - Monday 2 February 2026

‍DR ANNE WEBSTER MP

FEDERAL MEMBER FOR MALLEE

TOPICS: Mallee voter poll on future of Coalition, Nationals leadership spill motion, reuniting the Coalition, Nationals Party Room process, hate crimes and firearms bill debate in January

MACPHERSON

All right. Well, joining me now is Nationals MP, Anne Webster, and welcome to the program, great to have you on.

WEBSTER

Great to be with you James.

MACPHERSON

And last time we spoke, I asked your thoughts on the Liberal leadership, and you told me, as a Nationals MP, that that topic was forbidden fruit. Here's our exchange.

MACPHERSON

Who should lead the Liberal Party?

WEBSTER

Well, look, I know that the Liberals would take great joy in The Nationals telling them who should lead their party. We're not going to do that. That is absolutely forbidden fruit, so to speak, we wouldn't welcome their views on who our leader should be any more than I would be making comment. I don't think you'll find a National Party member who's prepared to get into that whirlpool

MACPHERSON

Now, Anne, since then the Herald Sun revealed you emailed a poll to supporters asking them to vote on whether it was preferable for Sussan Ley or someone else to be leader of the Liberals. So just like Adam and Eve couldn't resist forbidden fruit, seems like you couldn't either?

WEBSTER

I ... as a local MP of a very large electorate, it's very hard for me to get around and see and speak to everybody. My poll, which was a one question Surveymonkey, was asking people to give me their thoughts on whether the National Party should rejoin the Coalition. So, it was about that. It was about us - as a National Party - rejoining the Coalition, and under what circumstances, number one, if Sussan was leader, is that ... would that be acceptable to you as a voter in Mallee, if there was another Liberal leader, would that be acceptable to you as a member, as a voter, in Mallee, or would you prefer to see us - The Nationals - stay separate from the Coalition for a period of time, maybe up to the upcoming election? I did see that particular article and I thought, well, you know, ‘busted’? I don't think so. I, as a local member, am very committed to hearing from my constituents. I want to know what they thought, and I am pleased to say that over 2000 did respond. And look, the overwhelming thought that people have is, that while it's messy for the moment, that being together as a Coalition is the preference, and of course, that's what we are doing as a National party. We are a party of principle. We are a party where principles matter, and that was what actually drove us apart last week.

MACPHERSON

Can I just ask with, that survey? So most people said yes, it's good for the Coalition to get back together, but in terms of the question asking better with Sussan Ley or better with someone other than Sussan Ley, of the 2000 respondents, which of those two options was the most popular?

WEBSTER

The ... probably is something that I'm not going to share on national television, actually, no. No, no, I'm not. I'm certainly very happy to share it with my party room, because I think you know as local members, then our responsibility is to be representing our electorates. That's what it's about. That's why I'm here. Very fortunate to be here as somebody representing the electorate of Mallee. I need to know thinking that ...

MACPHERSON

... the people of your electorate, will you share the survey results with them?

WEBSTER

Yes, so they can share it with the Herald Sun?

MACPHERSON

No, but, but the result? I mean, not ... not the survey, but those who participate in the survey will - they get the results?

WEBSTER

I am planning on writing to my people who responded to the survey and giving them a breakdown of how it panned out.

MACPHERSON

Anne, you're a good sport. I love having you on the show. Let's move on. David Littleproud - he survived a spill motion in the party room today after being challenged by Colin Boyce, the motion went nowhere. What was it? What was the vote though? Did anyone back the motion? Or was David Littleproud unanimously supported?

WEBSTER

Look the ... when we do a vote like that, it is a secret ballot. We don't know what the result was. All we know is that this bill was not supported, and so David remained leader, and look, I've got to say that this has been an incredibly trying time, and it's very difficult to have any other view about about this than this is ... this was an Albanese setup, and that the Coalition - very unfortunately - ended up being the ones wounded through this process. I would think Albanese being the political person that he is, that they will try this again and again. That's why it's so important that we as a Coalition have very strong boundaries, very strong commitment to the Coalition when we get back together, which is why it's not just quick and sudden tonight, and none of us are fussed about that. We all have great respect for our relationship with the Coalition - with Liberal party ...

MACPHERSON

... With the meeting, with the meeting tonight between David Littleproud, your leader, and Sussan Ley, is the reason there's no announcement tonight, because they need to go back and talk to their respective party rooms about what was ... is that the reason there's been nothing announced this evening?

WEBSTER

It's certainly true that David will be coming back to us. We've got another party room meeting in the morning. And you know, I mean, James, I don't know how the other parties operate, but I've got to say that the National Party is the most democratic party that I know. And even through that process of those terrible bills, the hate crimes bill and the gun law reform, which was, you know, concertinaed into no time at all with truncated debates and guillotine debates. The whole process was a shambles. And I think it should be marked down in history as a shame on the Labor Party that they did that to the people of Australia. Because ultimately, it is the people of Australia who are going to wear the results of those two pieces of legislation. And we, as a party, had 10 meetings. That's how much we talk together. And we are very, very clear in the way that we communicate. None of us have any, you know, embarrassment about what ... if our views are different to others. That is fantastic democracy. That is democracy at its best. And I wish every party operated that way, but I can guarantee you that's not the way the Labor Party works.

MACPHERSON

Anne Webster, always a delight.