Shadow Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories - Shadow Minister for Regional Communications - Transcript - Interview Triple M Sunraysia - 29 October 2025

DR ANNE WEBSTER MP

SHADOW MINISTER FOR REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT, LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND TERRITORIES

SHADOW MINISTER FOR REGIONAL COMMUNICATIONS

FEDERAL MEMBER FOR MALLEE

TRANSCRIPT

TOPICS: Western Australia visit, consultation on speed limit reductions, 1-year anniversary of 3G shutdown

MATMAN

Triple M, good times and greatest hits - Federal Member for Mallee, that's Anne Webster. Very good morning to you, Anne. How are you this morning?

WEBSTER

Very good, thanks, Matman.

MATMAN

I believe you're in Canberra at the moment for Parliament. Is that right?

WEBSTER

I am having just an absolute blast. Thank you for asking.

MATMAN

No doubt. Now, look, you were in Western Australia recently. Did you find any gold over there, Anne?

WEBSTER 

Look, I wasn't doing so much shuffling for gold but I was certainly visiting lots of shires and people who live out in the regions - Pinjarra, Pilbara, Karratha, Broome and Perth itself, meeting with other political colleagues seeing what there is to see in terms of regional development because it's a big issue - and infrastructure, and regional communications, which is a major issue, I've got to say.

MATMAN

Now, I've heard about something, well, I've heard a little bit about this one. The federal government is planning to slash default speed limits to as low as 70 kilometres an hour. I mean, what?

WEBSTER

How ridiculous. Yeah, 100 per cent. So, this is for roads that don't have any signage, of which, of course, we've got plenty around Sunraysia that don't have any signs. So, they're looking at slashing our speed limits out in the regions, not in the city, out in the regions to 70 kilometres an hour. I have discovered last night that it's not only to save lives. Of course, we don't want any fatalities on our roads. However, it is also about climate change and emissions reduction because if we drive slower, we don't use as much emissions. And so this is because Chris Bowen is trying to reduce emissions rapidly rapidly by 2030. So we all get to have the joy of helping him do that by driving slower! If the consultation shows that, it feels like a Clayton's consultation to me. It feels like the decision's been made by the bureaucrats. We'll just get all the people out in the country to slow down. I mean, what's it going to do for our productivity? Trucks going to the port, to the families trying to get their kids to sport and school. It's just nuts.

MATMAN

It really is. So you're talking 100 kilometres an hour down to 70?

WEBSTER

Yeah. I don't understand, but anyway, there we go.

MATMAN

Now, yesterday was the first year anniversary of when Telstra and Optus shut down 3G, but people say the signal is worse!

WEBSTER

It is absolutely worse. And it's not just worse in the Mallee electorate all the way down south in the Wimmera, of course, as well. It's worse everywhere. So in Western Australia, I was told about about that over and over again. People who used to have signal can't get signal anymore. Even last night I was talking on Perth radio and a guy rang in saying that people call into his house - he's on the highway, the A1, and people call into his house - to use his landline because they've got no signal. They used to have signal, and this is the same in Mallee. We used to have signal in lots and lots of places on 3G. We no longer have it. Telstra and Optus say, no, nothing to see here. It's been 12 months and the government, you'll be pleased to know, are doing something about this. They're doing a mapping of the 3G and a consultation on the 3G, which we'll get in 2027. Don't hold your breath and please don't have heart attack where there was 3G and you no longer have signal. I mean, it's a debacle and it needs to be fixed.

MATMAN

It certainly does. It's always good to catch up with you, Anne. Thank you so much for the update. Have a fantastic rest of the week and we'll catch up again next week.

WEBSTER

Excellent. Thanks, Matman

MATMAN

Federal Member for Mallee, Dr Anne Webster.

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