Now is the time to halt soaring transport costs with Fuel Efficiency Standards
18th November 2022: Now is the time to halt soaring transport costs with Fuel Efficiency Standards
Solar Citizens today responds to the Australian Automotive Association’s (AAA) Transport Affordability Index, which shows that household transport spending is still rising, saying that we cannot delay in implementing strong Fuel Efficiency Standards. The AAA data shows the typical weekly household transport cost in capital city households is now $413.53.
“The AAA data today shows we’re paying far too much for fuel because our cars are inefficient and burn through so much of it compared to the rest of the world,” said Ajaya Haikerwal, Clean Transport Campaigner at Solar Citizens.
“This data shows a clear need for robust and loophole-free Fuel Efficiency Standards to reduce the pressure on the wallets of everyday Aussies.
“For too long, Australian households have been at the mercy of foreign oil companies and automakers who don’t care how much they’re spending on transport. Our cars are inefficient and our petrol has to travel a long way to get here and is dangerously vulnerable to foreign oil prices and availability.
“But there’s an easy fix that we’ve willfully ignored for a decade: we have all the mineral wealth and expertise to manufacture electric vehicles (EVs) in Australia, and then power them with our cheap and abundant Aussie sunshine.
“Unfortunately we’re dangerously behind other countries – the EU has had a Fuel Efficiency Standard for decades. We’re practically at the start line while our trading partners have lapped us numerous times – we simply cannot delay when it comes to implementing Fuel Efficiency Standards.
The AAA report breaks down transport costs by household and region, showing that the typical Australian household is paying $94.81 per week on fuel in the cities and $99.36 in the regions.
“Because people drive for longer distances in the regions and keep their cars for longer, regional Australians have even more to gain from Fuel Efficiency Standards than their metropolitan counterparts. Having more efficient cars like EVs sooner could save rural Australians tens of millions of dollars – but only if we act fast.
“The recent National Electric Vehicle Strategy consultation has given the Federal Government the social license to implement Fuel Efficiency Standards, truly a golden opportunity that will have minimal cost on the government’s bottom line.”
[ENDS]
Media Contact: Ajaya Haikerwal (0400 723 324)
