We commend the Federal Government for embarking on this ambitious process to design Australia’s first National Electric Vehicle Strategy (NEVS).
After a decade of inaction and roadblocks, Australia is lagging behind the rest of the world on clean transport policy, and we risk solidifying our global position as a dumping ground for polluting fossil fuel cars that can’t be sold elsewhere.
The NEVS presents a unique opportunity to reshape our transport system for the better. We can ensure electric vehicles (EVs) are affordable and run on clean renewable energy – from our cars and bikes to our buses, trucks and trains. We can even build them here and help revive Australian manufacturing and create thousands of new jobs. But time is of the essence – we can’t afford to wait another ten years, we have to get it right now.
As we will detail in our submission, the key to electrifying our transport system is the swift introduction of globally competitive and robust Fuel Efficiency Standards. This will level the playing field between us and other countries and ensure a strong supply of a range of EVs including affordable models, and cultural icons such as utes – which are popular and close to the hearts of many Australians. If the Federal Government fails to introduce strong standards now, Australians will be locked into spiralling petrol costs and years of transport emissions that will harm our climate and health.
Our submission details comprehensive responses to the Government’s 20 questions, informed by our own research of best practice EV policy, meetings with relevant stakeholder groups, and importantly our members.
Included at the end of this document are an additional 607 submissions from our members – passionate clean energy and transport advocates from across the country. These responses are diverse in their content and truly show the passion of Australians for harnessing the cost-saving and environmental benefits of clean transport technology such as EVs.
Additionally, we surveyed our supporters on the NEVS Discussion Paper Questions 6, 7, 12, and 17, and their answers are included as graphs after the respective questions.
We trust that this document is informative in guiding the creation of the NEVS and the direction of Australia’s clean transport policy.
Ajaya Haikerwal
Clean Transport Campaigner
Solar Citizens
