‍DR ANNE WEBSTER MP

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

FEDERAL MEMBER FOR MALLEE

TOPICS:

Electric Vehicle charging stations, cost of pursuing emisisons targets, Australia-US relationship, Prime Minister meeting with US President

SEAL 

‍Dr. Anne Webster, thank you very much for joining us. Yes, we're just hearing that announcement now by the Assistant Minister for Climate Change, Energy and the Environment, Josh Wilson, talking about the $40 million expansion of EVs charging networks across W.A. What's your take on this?

WEBSTER

Well, clearly, Jaynie, the Labor Party is absolutely hell bent on achieving targets, which it won't achieve by 2030 and it's now extending those targets to 62 to 70% by 2035. They've failed so far. What has happened is that electricity prices have gone up. Emissions have flatlined since Labor got into power, and reliability has gone down while they're putting this money into EV charging ports. I can tell you, here in Mildura, where I am today, we have lots of EV charging points, and I never see a car there. There's a reason for that, because out in the regions, we have massive lengths of roads that we need to get through, and very bad roads at that. I think there are so many problems in what Labor have announced this week, and this is just another one of it. And what is it really going to do for our diesel cars and transport, our B-doubles, our road trains, that get product to port and product to market and from one end of the country to the other? Are they actually going to push transport companies into electric vehicles as well? Because honestly, they're very good with the headline, very good with the fluff, very good with the ideological target, not so good at the implementation.

SEAL

Minister Chris Bowen said it was an ambitious but achievable goal. We obviously know that. He said, it's not going to be, you know, great for everybody. Some people coming out saying it's too high, too low. What would you like to see?

WEBSTER  

Well, I would like to see that regional communities are not bearing the brunt of their ideological and political targets. You know, the Prime Minister is heading off to the US to stand in front of the UN General Assembly and say, 'Look', pull out his plum and say, 'Look, what a good boy I am.' China certainly thinks so. And what is happening on the ground out in the regions is that we're bearing the brunt of it. Our farmers are having their farms railroaded with transmission lines they do not want. And we have wind turbines going up like I don't even know, just so many of them that are coming into, particularly my electorate, and creating such division. The Labor Party works that if you don't agree with its ideological and political targets, it just says, 'Too bad we're coming anyway, and we will impose fines on you if you don't open the gate. We will make and punish you for any stand or any view that is different to ours.' Well, you know what? Out in the country we have a different view. Well, it's interesting, because if we look back in early August, the Australian Financial Review did an estimate saying it was eight and a half times the original cost of the Central West Orana project, the REZ, the first REZ in New South Wales. So it's blown out eight and a half times.

SEAL

But then we also heard Anne with this announcement yesterday that the cost of inaction would be in the hundreds of billions of dollars. So I mean, how do you see this?

WEBSTER

Well, I mean, Chris Bowen has come out and said, the cost of inaction is so much greater than the cost of action. Is it? How do we know that, Mr. Bowen? Because you haven't provided us with the numbers. We don't know what it's actually costing us as Australians, but your grand plan, and, you know, your hope to sweep into power again at the next election, the reality is, Australians are hurting. Their electricity bills are going up. The cost to Australians is enormous. While our contribution to emissions, we know as well, we say it's 1% but in actual fact, anthropogenic, no, that's the right one, anthropogenic, human impact on emissions is actually not driving this and the methods and the means in which Chris Bowen and Anthony Albanese are pushing our country, honestly, I worry about our economic future. They are downgrading us as a country we will not be able to manufacture, let alone keep the lights on if they continue this 100% renewables approach.

SEAL

Well done. That tricky word. Finally, just to quickly, and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese we've just been mentioning is heading to New York, where he will front the United Nations General Assembly. And what are the chances? Do you think of him having a one on one meeting with the US President?

WEBSTER

Look his history doesn't look kindly on this whole circumstance. I wish him well. We need our Prime Minister to meet with the President of the United States, but Anthony Albanese has made a number of missteps, whether it is their support of the Palestinian state before there is peace in Gaza, whether it is the climate change action that he is committing Australia to, whether it's the lack of spending in defence that the United States are wanting us to invest in, to make us a partner that the US can rely on should China become more aggressive, the United States has good reason, and the President has good reason, to hold Anthony Albanese to account as a an ally, as a friend. The President wants to know that Australia is going to be reliable, and at this point in time, while Anthony Albanese wants to go over there and talk about, you know, safe social media for under sixteens, I'm pretty sure that's not going to be the hot topic in front of the President, if he does get that meeting.

SEAL

Anne Webster, always great to see you. Thank you so much.

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