Shadow Minister for Regional Health, Shadow Minister for Regional Communications - Member for Mallee - Transcript - Interview with James Macpherson 'The Macpherson Angle' - News24 - Sunday 13 September 2026

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‍DR ANNE WEBSTER MP
SHADOW MINISTER FOR REGIONAL HEALTH
SHADOW MINISTER FOR REGIONAL COMMUNICATIONS
FEDERAL MEMBER FOR MALLEE

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TOPICS: Welcome to Country,  Labor reaction to Pauline Hanson’s February reference to Prime Minister’s late mother, Communications Minister’s comments on protecting women from harm, legal definition of a woman,

MacPherson  

Well, joining me now is Shadow Regional Health Minister Nationals MP Anne Webster. Anne Webster, thanks for joining me. What's your view on Welcome to Country? It's overdone, is it not?

Webster  

Well, James, we had the Voice referendum. I would have thought that put a line in the sand about the fact that Australians, in a great majority, said we want one nation under one flag, and I might say one national anthem. Please don't anyone get any other ideas. We want to be recognised, we want to operate as one nation, and it really disappoints me that this constant virtue signalling-and let's face it, that's what it is. It's virtue signalling. ‘I'm holier than thou because I'm acknowledging or welcoming.’ When we are all Australians, whether you've been here for a week or whether you've been here with a history of 60,000 years, we're all Australians, and the way forward, in my view, is that we are united in that. And I think the other point that needs to be made is that we're not making any difference to the Closing the Gap issues, which are not improving, particularly for Indigenous Australians out in remote areas. That data is not improving. Whether it's health, whether it's education, whether it's wealth, none of that is improving because we're doing acknowledgement of countries, and I've got to say I've sat through meetings where there might be five or six done, according to whoever is in the room.

MacPherson  

You could have kept going. I was enjoying it. Look, I concur with absolutely everything you said. Let me ask you about mothers. Anthony Albanese, as I said, hit back at Pauline Hanson for mentioning his mum. But hasn't the PM, on the same token, made his mum part of the debate by mentioning her at every turn? I mean, he's used her to create a political narrative. So can we really get upset with Pauline Hanson when she pushes back on that narrative?

Webster  

Look, I think the Prime Minister has a right to be upset about that. It is his mum, as you stated in your narrative at the beginning of the show. I think it's very appropriate and good that we go for the ball, not the man - in this instance, his mum. We certainly, in the Coalition, we want to address the policy failures of this government, and the policy failures with regard to housing is a classic example because social housing is part of that, and they are making a complete botch of it, so I think Pauline made a mistake. Mind you, I also thought, hold up, this was February. Karl Stefanovic's podcast was February. Why is the Labor Party bringing this out now? There's always a reason. There is always a reason, and I suspect that Secret Harbour might have something to do with it.

MacPherson  

I suspect you might be right. Anika Wells has been talking about how the government's digital duty of care will protect female sports by stopping online abuse of female athletes. Have a listen.

Wells  

Values that sport is supposed to teach, be that effort or resilience or respect or accountability, they are directly undermined when the environment around sport tolerates abuse. So, we owe it to every young person who hasn't yet discovered what sport will mean to them, and every person who laces up their boots or dives in the pool or is hitting the field this weekend to change that.

MacPherson  

You see the irony here, don't you, Anne? I mean, Anika Wells talks about the need to protect female athletes from online harm, while the government's refusal to define women in law according to biology makes it likely females will suffer on-field harm.

Webster  

Well, and they are, and the High Court refusal to hear Sal Grover's appeal means that it's back in the parliament. It is squarely on the shoulders of the Prime Minister and his team, and for Anika Wells  to honestly gaslight Australia with that complete blindness to what is going on with regard to protecting women on the sporting field, at schools, in prisons - you know, we hear so much about it. Alison Penfold, Nationals member, put her own private members' bill up, a commitment to her electorate to make the definition between men and women clear, the biological difference, of the sexes, and Michaelia Cash is taking the Coalition's commitment to that forward. This nonsense has got to stop.

MacPherson  

Yeah, you're absolutely right. I mean, you use the term gaslighting, and it feels like we are gaslit at every turn at the moment. Anne Webster, always a delight to chat. Thanks so much for coming on the program.

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