Interview with Chris Kenny, News24 'Kenny Report' - Wednesday 23 September 2026

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DR ANNE WEBSTER MP

SHADOW MINISTER FOR REGIONAL HEALTH

SHADOW MINISTER FOR REGIONAL COMMUNICATIONS

FEDERAL MEMBER FOR MALLEE

TOPICS: Regional Aged Care, waiting for care, telephone assessments, aged care assessment algorithm, Nick Coatsworth, Coalition energy policy, projects' impact on farmers and prime agricultural land

KENNY

I want to cross to Anne Webster, the Shadow Regional Health Minister, joins us live from Mildura. Anne, good to talk to you again. You've held a regional forum on aged care today. Tell us a bit about that.

WEBSTER

It is a tri-state regional aged care forum and we had 150 people in the room, 100 were consumers and 50 were providers, so ... New South Wales, Victoria and a touch of South Australia There is such pain and hurt and confusion among our elderly and they're put in this position because the government has developed bad policy. Fundamentally the Royal Commission said there should be a one-door entry. There isn't. And people don't know where the door is and they don't know how to access it. I think what we found from all of the discussion - and everything that was scribed on every table- Nick Coatsworth, everyone would know, he facilitated the forum for me. And we know that regional healthcare spending is not where it should be. Same with aged care and the issues around workforce, the issues around distance and access, all of those things mean that our elderly, well, as we know from the numbers that have been reported, 5,000 people have died while waiting for care. I think one of the other things, Chris that was really important that came out very strongly on every table was that the telephone assessments... which I think I've talked to you about before, like honestly, what a nightmare. A telephone assessment is then managed - the assessment is completed - by an algorithm, which we now find out this week, having Sam Rae skirted the whole issue for a year, is not able to be legally overridden by a human. That means that whatever is said on the phone, where we don't have professionals who are observing elderly in their homes, they don't know if what they say is actually what the person can do. It's all a complete failure. And then once the assessment is actually done, it could be nine months before you get an assessment. Then it could be another year before you can actually get a provider and maybe services. They're not guaranteed. so we've got people in the room today - made me cry. I know I sometimes look like I cry easily, but where their husband has died because the services were not brought to them, to assisting them. It was multiplied around the room. It is heartbreaking, and this government is absolutely tin-eared on the whole subject.

KENNY

Such an important issue, a problem right around the country, but especially in the regions, as you've highlighted. Good get to get Nick Coatsworth there to facilitate it. I think we might see him in Parliament sometime. Maybe he'd be a health minister himself! Just briefly, while we've got time, though, I want to get your summary of the Coalition's energy policy released today by Dan Tehan.

WEBSTER

Yeah, look, the energy policy is really important. The one that stands out to me has to do with social licence and the renewables. component which impacts our farmers. I've spoken to you so many times about this, Chris So many times, yeah. so the railroading of prime ag land across Australia all the eastern seaboard, honestly, it's our farmers that are wearing the stress and they have no certainty. This policy will address that. So I developed the protection of prime ag land legislation, which Matt Canavan tabled in the Senate and Alison Penfold in the House because I was back in shadow portfolio roles. That particular bill would make sure that we had social licence ...

KENNY

Great stuff...

WEBSTER

It would make sure that prime ag land was protected.

KENNY

Yeah, spot on. Thanks, Anne. Thanks for joining us. I appreciate it.

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