Victoria Liberals promise to drop “bat-shit crazy” EV road tax, if elected

The Liberal shadow minister for energy and renewables in Victoria, Craig Ondarchie, has promised to “drop the EV Tax” is elected in November’s state elections.

Ondarchie, speaking on a panel recent AAAA (Australianhttps://thedriven.io/wp-admin/tools.php Automotive Aftermarket Association) Expo, said it was ‘madness’ to disencentivise plug in hybrid EVs with a Road User Charge on plug in vehicles.

He called the decision ‘bat-shit crazy’, given that plug in hybrids in particularl already pay the fuel excise.

The shadow minister also suggested they would shift the state government’s EV policy priority away from subsidising ‘high priced’ EVs, and would focus more on lifting EV sales overall and model choices.

Some policy possibilities were:

• Support for the generation industry to manage the EV Transition;
• Support for the installation of EV charging infrastructure, in particular fast-charge sites near older apartment buildings and along major road corridors;
• Support for the development of a local EV battery recycling industry.

Ondarchie also flagged his party’s intention to fast-track the next generation of EV mechanics. (A major topic within the forum discussion was the need to train the next generation of mechanics when there are no training providers yet capable of delivering the newly released EV mechanic qualifications).

As part of that training announcement, he laid out plans to set up a consultative body for the Victorian automotive industry to ensure it has a direct voice to government through a proposed community advisory panel (comprised of business, training and government members) and a $3 million support grant to the AAAA.

In particular, that panel was to look at how to support regional automotive repair and service business to navigate their way through the EV Transition.

It was also interesting to note that whilst he openly expressed his support for a target of zero net emissions by 2050, the shadow minister considered that the addition of interim 2030 targets ‘created a problem’. (He wasn’t, by the way, pressed in the forum as to what that ‘problem’ could be).