The association is asking for Parliament to spend 100 per cent of fuel excise revenue on national transport projects
The Australian Automobile Association (AAA) is launching a campaign that will give voice to 8.7 million voters and invite them to tell politicians they want transport spending at the centre of Australia’s Covid recovery and the 2022 federal election.
Australian motorists will this year pay $13 billion in fuel excise, causing Australia’s motoring clubs to encourage their members to send messages to those seeking to represent them in Parliament ahead of May’s federal election.
The AAA says the transport industry should be at the front of Australia’s Covid recovery
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The AAA’s Green Light Australia’s Recovery campaign will call for motoring taxes to be reinvested in transport projects that stimulate the country’s economy, save lives and make the transport network a priority, it says.
The World Economic Forum analysis of global transport infrastructure shows Australia’s world ranking slipped 20 spots in the four years to 2019 from 18th to 38th place, sitting the nation behind India, Dominican Republic and Azerbaijan.
According to Infrastructure Australia, the cost of maintaining roads in Australia is growing and the overall maintenance backlog is increasing.
AAA managing director Michael Bradley says: “With petrol prices at record levels, Australian motorists deserve to have every cent of their fuel taxes spent on projects that make their commutes faster, their families safer and their communities stronger.
“The past decade has seen just 53 per cent of the fuel excise spent on the transport network and, as a result, Australia is now having to play catch up.”
The AAA says that Australia’s politicians have been right to resist calls for fuel tax cuts, as the importance of fuel excise as the nation’s main source of road-building revenue shouldn’t be forgotten, but says the time has come for both sides of politics to commit to using 100 per cent of fuel taxes to build transport projects.
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The AAA’s 2022 Policy Platform says priority projects are capable of creating more than half a million jobs and generating more than $300 billion in economic activity, which it suggests would add more than $130 billion to the nation’s GDP.
It calls for significant investment in transport infrastructure coupled with policies including:
- establishing a road safety leadership role for the Commonwealth that leverages its transport funding to incentivise improved road safety outcomes
- implement a real-world vehicle emissions test program to improve customer information regarding fuel consumptions and emissions performance; saving motorists and businesses money while helping the environment
- supporting technology transition via an integrated plan to address the issues of greenhouse gas emissions, Australia’s fuel quality and electric vehicle infrastructure