Labor leader Bill Shorten today announced a strategy to encourage more Australians to purchase electric cars and cut vehicle emissions.
During the ambitious policy announcement Shorten claimed that Australia is lagging behind other countries in terms of electric vehicle (EV) adoption and we need to begin adopting cleaner transport options. In the statement, Shorten said the move would not only help the environment, but will also be cheaper to run for electric car owners, compared to their internal combustion equivalents.
In a press conference today, Shorten announced that, if elected, an Australian Labor Government would work to make electrical vehicles more affordable and convenient for Australians.
“We are going to make it more convenient to be able to drive an electrical vehicle in Australia. It’s about time this country got in front of the electric car revolution sweeping the rest of the world,” he said.
“It’s about time that this country decided that we can make electrical vehicles in Australia, that we can also help create a set of circumstances, create a market for electrical vehicles, which makes them affordable for household users.”
Shorten went on to discuss a $200 million infrastructure plan which is planned to put a network of charging stations around Australia, making the use of electrical vehicles more convenient.
Labor’s National Electric Vehicle (EV) policy aims to assist with “building the local industry, generating more local jobs, and helping consumers make the switch”.
The strategies of this policy are set to include:
- Having electric vehicles represent 50% of new car sales by 2030
- Setting a target for government electric vehicles, with 50% of new purchases and leases of passengers vehicles being electric by 2025
- Giving businesses an upfront tax deduction for the purchase of electric vehicles used for business purposes
- Establishing a COAG agenda and regulatory reforms.
Bill Shorten also spoke about his hopes of more jobs in Australia within the renewable energy field.
“I want us to have full-time jobs in renewable energy. We’ve got the best scientists in the world, so why on Earth aren’t we translating that to valuated manufacturing?” he said.
“We’ve got some of the best resources of lithium in the world. In Australia we have all of the parts for a lithium battery, so why can’t we be a nation who say we want to step up and have more manufacturing jobs?”
This announcement comes in the lead-up to the 2019 Australian federal election, which will be held later this year.
Electric cars are ‘actually worse for the environment’ – MYTH BUSTED
There is still some confusion surrounding whether electric vehicles are actually better for the environment compared due to the manufacturing resources required, the mining for the materials for the battery and the generation of the electricity from potentially non-renewable sources.
Jason Fenske from Engineering Explained has put together a nice concise explanation of whether or not Electric Cars produce more CO2 than combustion engines.
Spoiler alert: If you don’t have time to watch the video, the result, in terms of carbon dioxide reduction, is clearly in favour of a shift to electric vehicles, even in regions with limited renewable energy generation.
See the video below:
