Anne Webster (Mallee, National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Regional Development) Share this | Hansard source

As I reflect on my first speech to parliament in 2019 I remain constantly reminded of the privilege to serve the people of Mallee and represent them in federal parliament. A lot has changed since my maiden speech, both in Mallee and more broadly in Australia, and, indeed, around the world. The COVID-19 pandemic changed us all and changed many aspects of our lives—how society operates and how politics is perceived and operates right around the globe. Thankfully, we have pushed through those challenges and are now on the other side, getting back to business.

Some things, however, do not change. Mallee is a beautiful, diverse, productive and innovative region. It is a great privilege to represent the people of Mallee, from Talbot in the south, Cohuna in the east, Poolaijelo in the west and Mildura in the north. Mallee is over a third of the geographical area of Victoria—83½ thousand square kilometres. From the river country in the north to the mountains in the south and the planes in between, Mallee's varied landscape means produce is incredibly diverse. Incredible productivity comes from prime agricultural and horticultural land. Producers grow stone fruit, grapes, vegetables, wheat, legumes, olives, almonds, dairy, sheep and beef, just to name a few.

Mallee is about not only agriculture but other key industries such as minerals and clean energy systems which contribute to the economy. REMPLAN now estimates Mallee's gross regional product at $9.92 billion, with an annual economic output of more than $14 billion. The people of Mallee are proud of their innovation, with groups such as the Birchip Cropping Group and Mallee Sustainable Farming pioneering farmer driven research to enhance the agricultural industry in our area and beyond.

The people and communities of Mallee are particularly resilient, and thrive when faced with challenge. Travelling around the district, I am filled with pride at the many local enterprises in Mallee. Despite the odds, they are thriving. People are connected, towns are alive and services are operating. To bring a little bit of Mallee to my colleagues here in the House, I invited producers from across Mallee to showcase their fabulous produce in 2022. Magnificent Mallee was supposed to occur in 2020, but COVID prevented it taking place. I'm thrilled to say that over 20 producers were at the showcase, and what a night it was for all concerned. It is an event I am incredibly proud of.

Another example of resilience and innovation in Mallee is the extraordinary development and uptake of digital agriculture, for farmers to engage with and access global markets. Young people continue to return to the family farm precisely because farming has become high tech, and they can reach global markets on their digital devices while sitting in their auto-steered harvesters. When the coalition was in government, I worked hard to help Mallee farmers remain digitally connected. Community is built on communication. If you don't have it, the result is entrenched isolation, and nobody thrives in isolation. When we were in government, we delivered the Regional Connectivity Program and $1.3 billion to improve telecommunications, which included $480 million to upgrade NBN fixed-wireless and satellite networks as well as $811 million to expand regional mobile coverage and address black spots for 8,000 kilometres of roads and adjoining homes and businesses. To improve telecommunication, 1,200 mobile black spot base stations were funded by the coalition, and I will continue to advocate for more connectivity in Mallee.

One of the most significant challenges we face every day in Australia, and certainly in Mallee, is a relatively small population spread over large distances. Roads, rail and bridges are essential for productivity and community life. Getting locals and tourists alike safely home and wherever they need to go is a priority. Our farmers and industry rightfully demand efficient transport systems to access domestic and export markets. Millions of tonnes of product are transported on road and rail each year in Mallee, and both road and rail are in dire need of significant infrastructure expenditure, especially once the floods have dried up.

When in government, we delivered more than $440 million for the Murray Basin Rail Project, $200 million of which I personally fought for and achieved. The completion of the project will connect primary producers in the north-west of Victoria with the ports of Portland, Geelong and Melbourne. The project is expected to improve the productivity and efficiency of freight networks and to improve road safety by moving freight from road to rail. Unfortunately the Victorian government, under Premier Daniel Andrews, has failed to uphold its end of the bargain and complete this project in a timely manner.

More disappointingly, the current federal Labor government has taken $280 million out of our ROSI program in the Mallee. There are five highways that desperately need that infrastructure spend, and it's been ripped out by this government. As someone who regularly travels on Mallee roads throughout my electorate, I know that an efficient regional rail system would bring many social, safety and productivity benefits for everyone. More trains mean fewer B-doubles and B-quads on the road.

I have Australia's mightiest river as my northern border and other rivers, such as the Avoca and the Loddon, in my electorate. Consequently water is a priority issue. Droughts and floods have dire consequences, as we've seen recently in communities in Mallee. Water from the Murray River is the lifeblood of our regions, underpinning agriculture and primary industry sectors which support 220,000 jobs and inject billions into our national economy. The Murray-Darling Basin Plan is key to this and critical to the people of Mallee. We need to protect our farming communities by ensuring greater regulation, accountability and transparency. However, the greatest risk we face now is Labor committing to water buybacks. Buybacks are a disaster to regional communities. Making it worse, Labor are not transparent about any of it. Apparently the member for Sydney does not believe it's necessary. This has Mallee farmers more than worried about the potential impacts on them if the cost of licensed water rises. We have always advocated for the people and that any water taken must not impact our communities, undeniably Australia's food bowl. The Murray-Darling Basin Plan must be managed in a way that considers the continent, not parochial corners of it, as Edmund Barton would say.

The cost of living, particularly energy prices, remains another pressing issue for Mallee—indeed, for all Australians. Power prices are going up and up, and the Labor government has no plan to mitigate the impact on mum-and-dad families.

Labor has broken promises to cut power bills by $275, and the average Australian family will be $2,000 worse off in the current situation. The Labor government has committed to reckless renewable energy targets which will further drive up these prices. The Minister for Climate Change and Energy has acknowledged that, since the election last year, 22,000 solar panels will have to be installed every day and 40 wind turbines built every month until 2030. In addition, 28,000 kilometres of poles and wires need to be built to transfer power onto the grid and around the country. The great news is that the first eight kilometres have been approved for Snowy 2.0, so there's only 27,992 kilometres to go.

I am committed to emissions reductions and lowering energy prices while ensuring sustainability and reliability. Consequently I will always advocate for sensible, measured approaches. Under the previous coalition government, we had set a technology road map which meant that targets could legitimately be achieved while ensuring sustainable energy costs and delivery. Indeed, Mallee is perfectly positioned for renewables. In 2019, when I was elected, the capacity of existing grid infrastructure made some promising options unviable. I lobbied the former Minister for Energy, Angus Taylor, and welcomed the announcement of the VNI West interconnector via Kerang, which is in Mallee, to be delivered by 2027.

KerangLink will deliver an extra 1,800 megawatts of capacity during peak demand periods, help lower prices and allow Victoria to export 1,930 megawatts to New South Wales. The project will help maintain system security and reliability while also allowing more renewable energy to be connected to the grid. The project will open the floodgates for private sector investment in what is known as the Murray River Renewable Energy Zone, an area mapped by the Australian Energy Market Operator that encompasses significant renewable resources. In Mallee, there are currently 11 wind farms and 44 solar farms, with another on the way with 390,000 solar panels soon to be installed.

Working with businesses in Mallee has been a big part of my role in my first term—and now my second term—of parliament. Pre COVID, we had almost 20,000 small and medium-sized businesses in Mallee, many of which are family owned. Back then, they struggled to attract workforce, and the pandemic years created additional challenges, with many businesses just unable to survive. Attracting a workforce remains a significant issue, particularly in the horticulture industry. Without workers, you cannot harvest. Food goes to waste and supply is affected. When supply is affected, prices go up. That is why I fought so hard for an agricultural visa to help growers in Mallee and beyond solve that issue.

The Nationals in government delivered this, with Vietnam signing a memorandum of understanding with the federal government. The ag visa was to be demand driven and would allow skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled workers from participating countries to come to Australia. It offered a pathway to permanency. The Labor Party scrapped this visa, insulting growers across Australia, who were robbed of a solution to their issues. Thankfully, the memorandum of understanding with Vietnam will be upheld, but my inquiries lead me to understand that there are no Vietnamese workers in the country under the visa as yet. We need to do better. As long as I stand as a member of parliament, I will fight for better.

I was recently honoured to be offered the shadow regional health portfolio, tackling an issue that is of utmost importance not only for the constituents of Mallee but for all who live in regional Australia. In my first speech, I addressed this issue: your health status should not depend on your postcode, but it absolutely does. We need responsive and sustainable health care delivery for the nine million people who call the regions their home. Isolation is a key contributor to poor health outcomes and risks. While isolation might be mitigated by telecommunications and the network of first responders, distance and the lack of workforce are key troubles for regional communities. We need more doctors, nurses, allied health workers and mental health workers. We have reached crisis point, and the current federal and state governments have offered only bandaid solutions. A survey I am running for the people of Mallee, which has been responded to by 2,000 people so far, shows that 30 per cent do not have a regular GP, 40 per cent put off trying to get an appointment because it's just too hard and takes weeks. Many have to wait eight weeks. A third of respondents have had to turn to the hospital ED because they cannot get an appointment with a GP. This is untenable, and results in poorer mortality and morbidity rates in regional areas.

A longer-term solution is training local students in health in our regional centres, such as Mildura, Horsham and Swan Hill. I fought for and achieved an election promise to fund a biomedical wet lab at La Trobe University in partnership with Monash and Melbourne universities in Mildura to help build the workforce into the future. In opposition, I have approached the minister for health and the minister for education to support this vital project. I have invited both ministers to come to Mildura and meet the local universities and the hospitals to further this important scheme. This is a local solution and needs support. This investment in modern, high-tech facilities would mean that La Trobe will be even better placed to ease some of the pressure we currently face in the regional health workforce.

I will continue to fight for Mallee's healthcare system at all levels. A great source of pride was when I was able to deliver funding for the multimillion-dollar radiation therapy bunker in Mildura, with Mildura Health Private Hospital. This centre, which will open in the next few weeks, will mean people will not have to travel to Adelaide, Bendigo or Melbourne for radiotherapy and cancer treatment. I know the added burden that travel and isolation from families means when you are sick. In my maiden speech, I was privileged to have my father in the House. He was suffering from terrible cancer at that time and had to travel for radiation therapy to Melbourne. We lost him not many months later. Cancer is an awful disease and everything must be done in research and services to make this journey easier for those who suffer, but even more so for families in regional communities. The inequity is unacceptable. I am pleased that shortly patients will be able to receive life-saving treatment in Mildura, closer to their families and near their homes.

I remain passionate about injustice and understand the need for holistic approaches to the barriers faced by regional and rural communities. Before I came to parliament, with a small team I founded a not-for-profit organisation, Zoe Support, a holistic, wraparound and place based support to meet the needs of teen mothers and assist them to re-engage in education and employment. Zoe's Support continues to have extraordinary outcomes, impacting two generations and sometimes even three. Homelessness, mental health issues, drug and alcohol use and family violence have been significantly reduced through this essential service. Many young mothers are now educated and employed, and their children regularly attend school. Many are in their own private housing, not public housing, and are managing their affairs.

Over the years, I studied vulnerability in my PhD. I saw it in the mums at Zoe, and it provided great insight into our service model. I understand that the vulnerable are all around us and, in fact, are us: young mothers, Indigenous Australians, refugees, farmers in drought or flood, the unemployed, the aged, the chronically ill, those who live with a disability and returned soldiers, among others. The structural factors of vulnerability are irreversibility, dependency and unpredictability. While these factors are present every day in all of our lives to some extent or another, for the vulnerable they can be overwhelming and paralysing. I will continue to fight for the vulnerable and for my regional and rural communities in Mallee.

In closing, I said when I took office that I was deeply humbled to be given the opportunity to represent the people of Mallee. Now in my fourth year in office, I remain deeply humbled and grateful for the opportunity. I look forward to continuing to fight for Mallee and to contributing to the prosperity and wellbeing of all Australians.

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