Starting last week, Canberrans who buy electric and other zero-emission vehicles will automatically receive free registration for two years. The Australian capital territory is already waiving the stamp duty on clean cars and has committed interest-free loans to households and nonprofits of up to $ 15,000 to buy them.
Also last week, the Victorian Parliament passed the country’s first road toll – a tax on every kilometer driven – for electric vehicles and hybrids. Labor state government legislation was backed by enough Crossbench MPs to pass the House of Lords despite opposition from the coalition and the Greens. It starts on July 1st.
These contrasting approaches reflect what activists refer to as Australia’s confused and contradicting approach to helping the country use electric vehicles at a time when other countries are increasingly supporting them.
Only 0.75% of new cars purchased in Australia last year were electric vehicles. It is comparable to more than 4% globally, more than 10% in the UK and the European Union, and almost 75% in Norway.
The Morrison administration, which has accused Labor of trying to end the weekend leading up to the last general election with a non-binding 50% EV target for 2030, doesn’t think it’s their job to change that quickly.
Emission Reduction Minister Angus Taylor has ruled out guidelines applied elsewhere to spur electric vehicle adoption, such as direct consumer subsidies or a ban on the sale of new fossil-fueled cars from 2030 or 2035, as in countries like Great Britain, Germany and India promised, Thailand and Japan.
Taylor argues that the federal government’s political role is to enable consumers to choose by supporting electric vehicle charging infrastructure rather than pushing rapid change for climatic reasons. He cites a doubling of sales of non-plug-in hybrid cars that have both gasoline and electric motors and still emit CO2 from the exhaust.
As with power generation, where the Morrison administration dropped the coalition’s overarching policy plans, states and territories are trying to fill that federal void.
The ACT Greens Labor government’s approach has been to speed up uptake in order to cut greenhouse gas emissions from transport as soon as possible. Treasurers in at least three states – Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales – have taken a different route: introducing road tolls for electric vehicles before they take off to build a long-term revenue stream ahead of the inevitable expansion of technology.
Their stance follows a push by the think tank and lobby group Infrastructure Partnerships Australia and a report by the Victorian government to the Board of Treasurers – a forum of state and territory treasurers – last year discussing how road tolls should be clean and low Roads can best be introduced. Emission cars.
The dispute is usually not about whether a road user tax is ultimately a good idea. It is over if now is the right time to roll out, as the focus is on rapid emissions cuts and growing warnings that Australia may be left behind and pay more to rebuild its vehicle fleet in the future.
Both the Victorian Treasury Department report and a separate independent expert analysis found that a road toll introduced without other support for electric vehicles could hinder their uptake and slow down emissions reductions.
Shane Rattenbury, the Green Leader and Minister for the Reduction of Emissions, launched the ACT’s free registration program last week and said a road user tax on clean cars is a “catastrophic policy” when national EV sales are below 1%. The area government says it is prioritizing achieving net zero emissions by 2045. “I would encourage these other states to rethink their strategies,” he said.
Victoria’s new laws require owners of clean vehicles to record mileage to make them available to authorities by the end of the year. For electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel cell cars, 2.5 cents per kilometer and for hybrids 2 cents are charged. The rate increases with the consumer price index.
The Andrews Labor government has estimated that the average initial cost will be around $ 330 per year. The cost of a car is expected to increase by at least $ 3,000 over the course of its life.
The key argument in favor of a road toll is that it must replace the national excise tax on fuel paid by gasoline drivers as a source of budget income. The Victorian government said last year it had “proudly taken an active role” in encouraging treasurers across the country to introduce a road toll “that ensures that all motorists pay their fair share”.
Car manufacturers and environmental groups were not convinced. A group of 25 published an open letter in April calling on the state government not to implement what they called “the world’s worst electric vehicle policy” and warned against increasing the risk of Victorians lacking access to quality , affordable electric vehicles would have.
The Andrews government then announced it would offer a $ 3,000 subsidy for electric vehicles that cost less than $ 69,000, set a target of 50% of new vehicle sales as zero or low emission vehicles by 2030, and pledged to support more infrastructure.
Internal and external criticism has also delayed the introduction of road user taxes in NSW – where Treasurer Dominic Perrottet’s proposal was rejected by Environment Secretary Matt Kean and Transport Secretary Andrew Constance – and SA, where the government announced an indictment in the EU budget but later decided to to wait a year to see how it works elsewhere.
The passage of the road tax by the Victorian Parliament was welcomed by the managing director of Infrastructure Partnerships Australia, Adrian Dwyer. Describing electric vehicles as an “established technology”, he applauded treasurer Tim Pallas and the “sensible Crossbench” for staring at “a fringe fear campaign”.
“This is a sound confirmation of the fact that it is possible to promote the electrification of transport and still be able to pay for the infrastructure,” said Dwyer. “Now is the time for the NSW government to follow the Victorian playbook and introduce an EV road toll, along with a sweeping proposal to make the state’s light vehicle fleet green.”
Richie Merzian, the Australia Institute’s director of climate and energy, said no serious case could be cited that the road user fee did not hamper Australia’s rising traffic emissions.
“It will further slow an already embarrassing uptake of electric vehicles,” he said. “It’s incredible that the same month the US President pledged $ 174 billion for the EV industry, the Australian government didn’t put anything in its EV budget and a state government put a tax on them.
“It is so difficult to explain to overseas governments how successful Australians are at shooting themselves in the foot.”
Road to nowhere? EV obligations
Federal
PLOT
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No stamp duty on new zero-emission vehicles.
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Free vehicle registration for new zero-emission vehicles.
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Promising Interest Free Loans Up To $ 15,000 For Households.
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All newly leased fleet vehicles will be emission-free in the period 2020-21.
NSW
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Low-emission light vehicles receive a discount of up to USD 30 upon registration.
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Proposed but late fee for clean motorists.
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The government’s fleet is expected to be 30% of all electric vehicles by 2023.
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Fully electric bus fleet by 2030.
Victoria
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The road toll of 2.5 cents / km for zero-emission cars and 2 cents / km for plug-in hybrid cars starts on July 1st.
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$ 3,000 subsidies for electric vehicles cheaper than $ 69,000.
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$ 100 registration discount for EV owners.
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EV owners pay a lower vehicle duty rate than other luxury cars.
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50% target for new EV sales by 2030.
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$ 10 million for 400 electric vehicles in the government fleet by 2023.
Queensland
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Electric vehicles in the lowest band for registration and stamp duty.
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Doubling the number of electric vehicles in government fleets every four years.
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Financing 31 fast charging points in 2017; an additional USD 2.5 million for 13 stations in 2020.
South Australia
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Promised a road user fee, but postponed it for a year.
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Government fleet cars need to be replaced with electric vehicles whenever possible. The goal is to be full EVs by 2030.
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$ 13.4 million for a public charging system.
Tasmania
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Aim of a 100% electric government fleet by 2030.
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$ 600,000 for a fast charge system.
Western Australia
Northern Territory
Source: Electric Vehicle Council