The Hon. Anne Webster, Shadow Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories, and Member for Mallee, Media Release, 22 November 2025
Shadow Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories, and Member for Mallee Dr Anne Webster says Friday afternoon’s quiet shelving of Labor’s proposed default speed limit reduction is a victory for Coalition advocacy and common sense.
The Albanese Labor Government was consulting on slashing the default limit from 100 kilometres an hour to as low as 70 km/h. Dr Webster said it is infuriating the proposal ever saw the light of day.
“Time and again the Coalition are having to activate regional Australians to make their voice heard because Labor put hare-brained ideas forward that simply will not work in the regions,” Dr Webster said.
“Regional development would have slowed, and the tyranny of distance would have grown even larger had this nonsense become Labor policy. I, with my Coalition colleagues including those in the many regional seats we hold, spoke up as soon as we spotted this proposal.
“In a sham consultation, Labor put the speed limit reduction proposal forward without a media release and with a shorter than usual consultation period, which the Coalition embarrassed Labor into extending at the 11th hour.
“Regional Australians piled in making their voices heard, at the Coalition’s encouragement, and at last common sense has prevailed.
Dr Webster commended regional Australians who not only made submissions but contacted their MPs, noting that the Australian Local Government Association and the NSW Labor Roads Minister had both declared recently they would not support the proposal.
According to a report on Friday afternoon, the Transport Ministers met and decided not to proceed with the proposal. The proposal fine print had indicated that reducing greenhouse gas emissions was an objective of the policy.
“This is a victory for regional Australia and common sense, and I urge the Albanese Labor Government to try something different and turn their mind to the impact their poorly thought through policies are having on regional Australia,” Dr Webster said.
