Industry experts from around Australia say heavy vehicle operators will suffer due to the temporary nature of the fuel excise fix
A group of transport industry experts say cost of living pressures are climbing and a temporary fuel excise fix isn’t the long-term answer the industry needs.
“The fuel excise was merely a temporary band-aid solution and did nothing to address the real issue of spiralling fuel costs in the longer term, which place even more pressure on top of sky-rocketing bills. It was short-sighted. What we really need is fuel efficiency standard,” Climate Council head of advocacy Dr Jennifer Rayner says.
“The fact is, Australians are being totally ripped off when it comes to how we get around. Our complete lack of fuel efficiency standards means we’ve become a dumping ground for some of the world’s most polluting, expensive and inefficient cars. Meanwhile, someone who drives an electric vehicle can save around $1,600 a year compared to a petrol car, but at the moment most Australians don’t have the option to buy them.
“The federal government has started the conversation with its National Electric Vehicle Strategy, but we need it to move quickly and decisively to catch up with much of the rest of the world. The longer we wait to put fuel efficiency standards in place, the more Australians will be exposed to fuel price spikes and harmful pollution.”
The experts say that the fuel excise cut was always temporary and has cost the federal budget $3 billion in just six months.
With transport being Australia’s fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions, fuel efficiency standards cover 80 per cent of the global car and truck market.
Yet Australia is one of the only wealthy countries without these standards in place.
Co-founder and director of Good Car Anthony Broese van Groenou says: “There’s all this concern about subsidising electric vehicles but we’ve been subsidising fossil fuels and polluting vehicles for decades now.”
“Currently, we rely on volatile fossil fuels from some of the most volatile places in the world. Electric vehicles run off renewable energy, generated at home, are cheaper, more secure and will keep our money locally rather than sent offshore.”