NSW transport minister Andrew Constance has slammed the introduction of road user charges for electric vehicle owners – as has occurred in Victoria – as “crazy and ridiculous.”
Constance (pictured top left) told an online Smart Energy NSW Energy Summit, Constance said it was clear that “you don’t develop a market by talking about taxes, you do it by talking about incentives.”
His observations will be supported by many Victoria based electric vehicle owners, who have vented their frustration  about the tax, and the clunky and inefficient reporting system that many suspect will cost more in administration than revenue raised.
NSW is not putting in a road user charge for EVs until at least 2027, in the meantime it is about to introduce rebates of $25,000 for EVs prices under $69,000, and stamp duty exemptions as well, which will result in an on-road cost reduction of up to $5,000.
Those incentives comes into effect from September 1.
“We need to ensure our society is leading the way in terms of incentives,” Constance told the summit. “We are not interested in introducing a road user charge until 2027. It is a disincentive when you are trying to transition to new technology.”
Constance said one of the keys to growing the EV market was to develop a second hand market, and the best way to drive that was for government – and private – fleets to move to electric vehicles.
He said he was disappointed to hear federal energy and emissions reduction minister say that EVs are luxury cars. “That’s untrue,” he said.
He also said Australia could no longer “embarrass oursevles” on the international stage by debating whether climate change is real or not. “We need really strong leadership to ensure that vocal minorities do not stymie the community.”
Giles Parkinson is founder and editor of The Driven, and also edits and founded the Renew Economy and One Step Off The Grid web sites. He has been a journalist for nearly 40 years, is a former business and deputy editor of the Australian Financial Review, and owns a Tesla Model 3.