The Coalition government’s EV strategy timeline is “woefully inadequate”, South Australian senator Tim Storer says.
“The EV revolution is on our doorstep and this is further evidence that they refuse to take it seriously,” the chair of the Senate Select Committee on Electric Vehicles says.
“My senate inquiry just delivered a 197-page report that looked in great detail at what needs to be done to support EV uptake here in Australia,” he says.
“The expansive inquiry ran for seven months, received 137 submissions, heard from 85 witnesses, held five public inquiries, and gained multi-party agreement to 17 recommendations, including from the Coalition.
“It provided the government with all the evidence it needs to take action. And yet they will take no practical action between now and mid-2020. It is not only laughable, it is downright irresponsible.”
Storer says the Coalition government is “again failing in their duty to appropriately prepare for what is inevitable, and it will be Australian consumers who suffer with less choice, more pollution, poorer health, higher prices, and dated technology”.
He says the Australia Labor Party is even worse.
“They haven’t announced a single EV policy.
“Both major parties have their heads in the sand, and voters have every right to be concerned.
“We need to provide tax breaks to reduce the upfront costs of EVs so they are affordable for the average family, and investing in charging infrastructure,” Storer says.
“We should also be setting fleet targets and supporting local industry to seize the economic opportunity the EV revolution provides.
“We have all the human and natural resources needed to do so. All we lack is the political leadership.”
