A House of Representatives inquiry into Australia’s electric vehicle transition has been launched in Canberra, looking into how best to manage the decarbonisation of Australia’s transport sector – one of the nation’s biggest sources of emissions.
The inquiry will consider the necessary resources, systems and infrastructure for vehicle electrification, says committee chair MP Tony Zappia, and the impacts of moving away fossil fuelled internal combustion energy (ICE) vehicles.
“The Committee will also explore opportunities such as fuel savings and affordability for residents in outer regions to make this shift beneficial for everyone,” Zappia says.
“Our focus will also be on the future of EV battery manufacturing, and we will consider challenges on electricity consumption and demand and our limited EV supply compared to other countries.”
The EV inquiry, referred by federal climate and energy minister Chris Bowen, launches into the void of Australia’s still-absent national fuel efficiency standards – a policy tool considered crucial to the transition to EVs.
Australia remains – along with Russia – the only western economy without fuel efficiency standards, which has allowed low quality fuel, inefficient engines, high running costs and serious health impacts from the running of petrol and diesel cars.
Federal Labor promised in early 2023 – with the launch of Australia’s first National Electric Vehicle Strategy – to rectify this situation, and in August last year Bowen and federal transport minister Catherine King reported overwhelming public support for the party’s proposed standard. But there has been little progress since.
In November, King said the government was still “committed to introducing a strong fuel-efficiency standard as soon as possible” but it may take longer than expected.
“In order to deliver a successful (fuel-efficiency standard) that results in more modern, cheaper-to-run and cleaner cars, the government is ensuring it takes the time to get the design right,” she said.
Meanwhile, Australians are adopting EVs at an ever faster rate, despite being well behind the rest of the world on the number and range of models available – particularly at the cheaper end of the market.
A study late last year found that nearly half of Australians are contemplating buying an EV, with one third planning to buy one within the next five years.
“It’s important this inquiry does not hold up the introduction of a Fuel Efficiency Standard (FES) in Australia, which we already know will play a critical role in reducing the cost of electric vehicles,” said Solar Citizens CEO Heidi Lee Douglas on Friday.
“A FES will increase the supply of electric vehicles, and more efficient petrol vehicles, and make them cheaper to run.
“A FES can help ease the cost-of-living pressure on household budgets, reduce pollution and emissions, and decrease greenhouse emissions from transport.
“Australians are ready for cars running on sunshine, now we need urgent action from political leaders to get them behind the wheel of electric vehicles, sooner,” Douglas said.
Still, an inquiry it shall be – even though many of the recommendations of the last one we had, undertaken by the Senate in 2018, are yet to be actioned – like uptake targets and vehicle emissions standards.
The terms of reference this time around include:
- What resources, systems and infrastructure are required to support the transition
- The impact of moving from internal combustion engine vehicles
- Potential fuel savings
- The impact on demand and consumption of electricity
- Opportunities to expand Australia’s EV battery manufacturing, recycling, disposal and safety
- Australia’s limited EV supplies, and the impact that’s had
Bringing EV manufacturing to Australia was brought up by Bowen in 2022 during a US visit.
He told the Australian Financial Review at the time: “We can make electric vehicles in Australia. Not only do I think that, so do the electric vehicle manufacturers.”
“There’s work to do to make that more viable in Australia, but the economics of an electric vehicle are a lot different to the economics of making internal combustion engine (cars).”
To make a submission or find out more information about the inquiry, click here.