My family and I are privileged to have an electric car which we love but over the next few years all new transport vehicles will need to be electric – cars, vans, SUVs and trucks – because they are responsible for 20% of Australia’s greenhouse emissions.
The Morrison government took us in the wrong direction, telling people electric cars and utes would ‘ruin their weekend’. Australia is at the bottom of the rung, as the only country in the OECD that doesn’t have stringent fuel efficiency standards – the mechanism that is driving the auto industry to produce electric vehicles in the rest of the world.
After numerous false starts, the Government recently announced it would bring these standards in by 2025-28, after yet another round of consultations. Once again, vested interest comes into play. Oil companies, petrol/diesel stations and auto servicing sectors are strongly resisting the transition to renewables.
Mandatory fuel efficiency standards would have saved Australians a hefty $5.9 billion in fuel costs and emissions had the policy been adopted in 2015.
It would have saved lives too. Vehicle emissions are estimated to be responsible for more than 11,000 premature deaths and 12,200 cardiovascular hospitalisations per year.
The average lifetime of a passenger car in Australia is 10.8 years so it is crucial that as many as possible being sold are electric.