Transport
On 18 March, 2021 Zali Steggall MP and the the Parliamentary Friends of Climate Action had a truly bipartisan meeting on the steps Australia needs to take to make low emission transport accessible to all Australians.
Australia is a global laggard, our vehicles are some of the most polluting in the OECD. But this can change, as we heard from the Ambassador of Norway His Excellency Paul Gulleik Larsen on how we can use incentives to support adoption; Tim Washington, CEO of JET Charge on how detrimental state taxes were to the small EV market; and Ms Claire Painter, who is the Corporate Communications Manager at Mercedes-Benz Australia about how major manufacturers are supporting model availability and consumer choice.
We also learnt from John Blackburn AO, a defence expert, that Australia's lack of a strong electric vehicle strategy has us on track to be 100% reliant on foreign oil. He believes this makes Australia vulnerable to disruption from events such as pandemics. A clear EV transition will reinforce national security and sovereign capability, not just our emissions reduction.
We can make electric vehicles more attractive to Australians by axing the luxury car tax, amending fringe benefits tax, and putting in place strong vehicle emissions standards.
For more information: https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7173036/leading-the-way-morrison-govt-mp-praises-acts-electric-car-policies/?cspt=1616102843%7C4818bfefad218b43df2a96debcc921dc
- Support the tunnel, done right: future proofed with clean public transport with a focus on environmental and health impacts on the community.
- Work to develop more clean public transport.
- Champion uptake of Electric Vehicles and investment in charging infrastructure.
- Focus on sensible planning that balances population and development.
