Shadow Minister for Regional Health, Shadow Minister for Regional Communications - Member for Mallee - Transcript - Sky News - Sunday 19 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:  Medical supplies to Australia, Australian sovereign capability, solar panels going to landfill, decommissioning of energy projects, National Disability Insurance Service (NDIS) rorting and viability, Thriving Kids program

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Seal  

The Middle East crisis has prompted the federal government to place an Emergency Response Centre in terms of what we need for supplies in our emergency system. Joining us live is Dr Anne Webster, Shadow Minister for Regional Health. Great to see you, as always. Talk us through this.

Webster  

Well, fundamentally, what we .. I do not even want to say the word COVID! - what we went through with COVID was the need to know what medicines we had in Australia, what supplies there were, dare I mention the word ‘masks’? You know, all of that had to be managed, really in a national way. So the federal government, but also the state governments, what we have now, we know, because of the fuel crisis and the reliance on oil products for things like medicine, for gowns, for gloves, for the things that are used in hospital, is that there are shortages that the government needs to keep an eye on. That means they need to work together, much easier said than done. But you know, it also impacts pharmaceutical products. So, there are requirements on pharmaceutical companies to ensure they have six months’ supply of PBS listed medicines, and that includes, obviously, cardiac, mental health, HRT, a range of medications that each pharmaceutical company has to have in supply, because we don't know, in times of war, just what will happen for those who need those medications. So, it's actually a very important step. I just want to see that there is transparency about all of it, Jaynie.

Seal  

Because, again, we don't know how long this is going to last, but we hear from farmers, for example, the flow-on with their issues, with cropping and so forth, with urea and fertiliser, could be a long-lasting situation, and this is just another one on top of that,

Webster

Absolutely, I think what has been a stark wake up call for, I hope, the government, certainly for Australians, is that we are heavily reliant on fossil fuels - as much as the government would like to say that we're not. We are. We know that, and our self reliance and sovereign capacity is critical, and we must have plans in place to ensure that we don't run out, because at the moment, we've now got pharmaceuticals being flown in, rather than by ship. So, it is serious, and the government needs to be planning ahead and ensuring that all levels of government are working together.

Seal  

Well, we do hear the Labor government talking about a future made in Australia, and they're looking at ways to implement bringing things back home, so to speak, but if we look at other situations reported this week, for example, Energy Minister Chris Bowen is warning the solar panel waste is an issue. While they are very pro-renewables, and many people are, there is the waste that we need to look at. What's happening here?

Webster

Well, I find this extraordinary, that Chris Bowen was very keen to be providing subsidies to, often foreign-owned entities to build renewables in Australia, and I've got many solar enterprises throughout Mallee, but there was no rehabilitation plan. There was no decommissioning plan. There was no subsidies for decommissioning. What happens? Well, we have solar panels across Australia, and I believe Broken Hill, not far north of me, will be one of the first solar enterprises that will need to decommission. Where are all those solar panels going to go? Well, we learn that most of it will go into landfill, and South Australia and Victoria have already made the determination that they're not going in our landfill. Well, where are they going to go? There is no rehabilitation subsidy for those who have those solar enterprises on their land, and we learnt from Chris Minns only a month ago that landholders will be held responsible for that rehabilitation and decommissioning, should the company take a walk. Well, there's no requirement for the company to do the cleanup at this point in time. This is a big problem. So, Chris Bowen has started something he actually can't complete.

Seal  

Wanted to quickly ask you about the NDIS, certainly front and centre from all governments and people involved. There's an article by Bill Shorten in this weekend's Australian titled NDIS, participants are not to blame for funding blowout. Improve it, let it make a difference for generations to come ... It does look like there are going to be some major cuts. Do you think it needs to be cut?

Webster

I think the first port of call for the government is to ensure that the providers of NDIS services are not rorting the system. I think that's point one. We already know that there are frauds taking place. Where are they? Why are they taking place? Why is there nothing happening about those? We have a over $50 billion red hole, if you like, in our budget due to the NDIS. Now they're, conversely, there are people who are desperately in need of NDIS services because they have disabilities that are so severe, and they live with those disabilities every day. We know that the NDIS has been opened up to those who may have, if you like, and this is probably a crude way to describe it, but transient disabilities. You know, there's a reasonably high proportion of young boys, for example, who've been diagnosed with ADHD, who will grow out of it. I think it's somewhere around 30 per cent by the time they're in their early teens. Should they be on the NDIS? Well, you know, you would have to ask the question, and I think the government has put forward the Thriving Kids prograe. I think it is a program that should be taken up with the states and the federal government to make it work. Why Minister Butler has not been able to get that over the line? I don't know. There are a lot of kids who need it, and that work needs to be done. But it seems to me, it's all just been too hard, and the government really doesn't have the wherewithal to resolve these matters. They must be resolved.

Seal  

Anne Webster, thank you so much as always for joining us today.

Webster

Thanks, Jaynie.

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