Shadow Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories - Shadow Minister for Regional Communications - Transcript - Interview Sky News AM Agenda - 29 May 25

DR ANNE WEBSTER MP

SHADOW MINISTER FOR REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT, LOCAL GOVERNMENTAND TERRITORIES
SHADOW MINISTER FOR REGIONAL COMMUNICATIONS

FEDERAL MEMBER FOR MALLEE

TRANSCRIPT

JAYES

Welcome back. You're watching AM Agenda. Sussan Ley has finally unveiled her new shadow cabinet. She was standing side by side with the Nationals leader, David Littleproud to do it because they are back together. It is a refresh. There's been some demotions and promotions, as you would expect and joining me live now, is the Shadow Minister for Regional Development, Regional Communications and Local Government, Anne Webster. Anne, great to see you.

WEBSTER

Thanks so much.

JAYES

What do you think of the new front bench team? Is it a winning one?

WEBSTER

Thanks very much for having me, Laura. It's great to be talking with you and I certainly hope we're a winning team. We have a lot of work to do over the next three years. I for one am very grateful and honoured to take on the role of Shadow Minister for Regional Development and Communications to massive issues for regional Australians and I'll certainly be working very hard to see that regional Australia gets its fair share.

JAYES

Indeed. When you look at the carve up as well, one of the biggest things for The Nationals was to get that mobile phone coverage in the bush. And that is a massive issue for regional Australia. We're also talking about, you know, transmission lines and how that affects country, Australia. But of the things that seemed to lose the election, or at least the Liberals did in the cities and things like ‘work from home’, did the nuclear policy go down so well? What do you think about those particular issues? Also, income tax, was it a mistake to not match Labor on what they put out in the last budget? Do you have some thoughts on those things?

WEBSTER

Yeah, Laura, there are many issues and a review is absolutely necessary - obviously. I would just remind your viewers that the Nationals actually held every seat and transitioned three, so it wasn't out in the regions.

In terms of the Liberals review of their urban losses, then I'll certainly leave that to them. I wouldn't presume to step in. I think, you know, as I listen to the commentary over the last couple of weeks, what concerns me is that, you know, ‘nuclear must have been bad’ and ‘work from home for public service in Canberra must have been bad’. I'm not so sure. I think that potentially the marketing of those things and the allowing for Labor - and the media have to take responsibility for this as well - allowing Labor to lie about nuclear costings, for example. And that was a huge error. Does it mean nuclear is ‘bad’? You know, with, with all reviews you need to have good research. That doesn't take presumptions and assumption on face value that certain things were bad, certain things were good. I think we need to evaluate and certainly from The Nationals’ point of view, we will be doing that, evaluate how particular policies played out with the people on the ground with the people that sent us to Canberra to represent them. And I can tell you right now the whole ‘net zero’ discussion, which I know you're going to ask me about because it's a hot issue, that will be something that we are certainly going to be taking up in our party room. David (Littleproud) has talked about a process where whereby we will be reviewing that, looking at all of the issues and taking that forward.

JAYES

You'll review it, so, you do you want to scrap personally, you, yourself, as part of that party room, would you be arguing to scrap it?

WEBSTER

I've been facing the pain - and I mean pain - of the people in my electorate who have just become the useful idiots under Jacinta Allan and Labor's federal aggressive policies for a rush to renewables. The pain that is in my communities where communities are divided, where the cowboys have run wild with renewable projects. Where there are nondisclosure agreements coming out your back pocket and the Victorian Government’s push for transmission lines regardless, of the so-called consultation, they have been fake consultations and all the people in my electorate tell me this.

I absolutely want to stand up for regional communities. We are not the useful idiots of the left. Yeah, and we will not just continue to bow down to the policies that our urban counterparts sadly don't understand what it costs us.

JAYES

Well, Jacinta Allan, Victoria doesn't want to explore gas. So, this was well demonstrated yesterday by the Santos boss, Kevin Gallagher, when I was speaking to him at an energy summit, he likened the investment opportunities in Victoria to that of North Korea. Now that, of course, that was tongue in cheek, right, but it does illustrate how difficult it is in Victoria to expand any gas. I mean, you just simply can't do it where the rest of Australia and the rest of the world recognise gas as an important lower emissions fuel to keep the lights on, but also move towards net zero. What did you think about those comments yesterday from Santos?

WEBSTER

I think Kevin Gallagher sounds like an eminently sensible man and I'm sure I would have a laugh with him about that comment. But the reality on the ground is that we are losing business in Victoria and you know, as we've said many, many times, energy is the economy and we will not have an economy in Australia if we don't wise up to what is actually required for dispatchable power and for us to be able to bring back manufacturing and strengthen our economy. I'm really pleased to see that the Labor Party have approved the North West Shelf Gas project in WA. You know, it's not Victoria. There's a reason for that.

JAYES

Yeah, it's extraordinary, isn't it? And I can tell you - and you would know this as well - it's just not Kevin Gallagher saying it. Many others are saying it, and the proof is in the stats. The level of debt that Victoria's in, the fact that they want Queensland to subsidise their energy in Victoria, the list goes on.

WEBSTER

I know, and I can't tell you the number of people who are shutting up shops. Small business, you know, we know that our small business closures, the records are being kept, we lost 25,000, I think it might be slightly more than that, in the last three years small businesses have closed because they just simply cannot make ends meet. That's a huge discussion on its own. But the Victorian State Government, with all its red tape and its difficulty doing business and allowing businesses to thrive, is a major cause of people wanting to leave Victoria. I have people telling me all the time I'm shutting up house. I'm selling and I'm leaving.

JAYES

Well, that's just extraordinary. Well and thank you for your time. Can't wait to see what work you do in your new positions, and we'll catch up with you soon, no doubt.

WEBSTER

Thank you.

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