The country’s most ambitious electric vehicle policy to date has fallen apart after NSW Labor won government from the Coalition, but the shift could mark an era in which efforts to manufacture low-emission technology on home soil replace splashy incentives.
Electric Vehicle Council CEO Behyad Jafari said the former Perrottet government had spent two years as the country’s top-rated state for EV policy, and he applauded its “incredible job in addressing the significant opportunity that electric vehicles represented to the state”.
“They did this not only by delivering the strongest state policy through their NSW Electric Vehicle Strategy, but also in their ongoing efforts and commitment to realising the state’s target of 50% EV sales by 2030,” Jafari told Crikey.
Climate expert and former climate and energy program director at the Australia Institute Richie Merzian said the NSW Liberal Party had a better EV policy than the Andrews Labor government in Victoria, let alone the newly minted Minns government.
“I do think the NSW Liberals’ [former treasurer and energy minister] Matt Kean has gone out of his way to build a broad church coalition to create renewable energy zones, push ahead with targets, and create a much better electric vehicle policy than NSW Labor,” Merzian, a former government representative to the UN climate change conference, told Crikey.
Charging up NSW two ways
Earlier this month on the campaign trail, Coogee Labor MP Marjorie O’Neill and then-Labor candidate for Vaucluse Margaret Merten (who lost to Liberal Kellie Sloane) announced Labor would pour $700,000 into funding 19 electric vehicle charging sites in Sydney’s affluent east (Waverley, Randwick and Woollahra).
“We are committed to reducing our carbon footprint, and this is one way we can do that,” O’Neill said.
It followed Labor’s pledge of a $10 million fund for electric vehicle charging outlets throughout the state, which would create at least 50 charging stations in NSW. With somewhere between four and 15 chargers at each site, it could mean as many as 750 extra chargers for desperate EV drivers.
But it’s peanuts compared to the Coalition’s EV charging ambitions, following a pre-election vow to boost the number of chargers some 30-fold — from 1000 to 30,000 by 2026 — more than double the number of petrol pumps in NSW.
The Perrottet government also dished out an additional $38 million for electric vehicle chargers in its 2022-23 budget — including $10 million to co-fund kerbside charging points, $10 million to co-fund 125 medium and large apartment buildings, and $18 million for more EV fast-charging grants (which will see charging points at stations increase from four to eight).
“We want all drivers to be able to recharge whenever and wherever they need to, whether it’s on a road trip, commuting to work or at home,” Kean said last month.
Other spiked incentives from Kean, who was admittedly somewhat of a climate outlier in the party, included no stamp duty on electric vehicles priced below $78,000, $3000 rebates for those less than $68,750, and permission for EVs to drive in the transit lanes.
It was all part of the Perrottet government’s splashy EV strategy — of which Kean was the architect — which earmarked $633 million to see electric vehicles make up half of all new car sales in 2030-31 on the way to net zero by mid-century.
Labor goes to the source
But Minns headed further up the supply chain in his approach to the state’s EVs on the campaign trail, outlining his vision for NSW to take the reins of our EV manufacturing — which is nearly entirely imported.
Australia is currently home to half of the world’s lithium and exports $9.4 billion of the critical mineral for lithium-ion batteries, while China controls 59% of the world’s EV battery production.
“We need a plan to make NSW an EV technology leader, not just an importer of parts and an exporter of raw materials,” Minns said.
“We need to think big and carve out a role for NSW manufacturing in the EV supply chain.”
Earlier this month, Minns also vowed to electrify public transport on home soil by building a fleet of zero-emission buses in NSW, creating a “rapid bus network” to make zero-emissions public transport the “future” in his state.
It was bad optics, however, when Minns’ electric bus broke down days later on the campaign trail, ostensibly because Minns himself had forgotten to charge the branded vehicle overnight. It was promptly abandoned in Sydney’s west in favour of a diesel bus.
“But bus or no bus, we are ready for the next four days,” Minns said — and the now-premier was.
Reasons to be hopeful
Jafari said there’s no reason to believe the new Labor government won’t rise to the occasion and develop a far more ambitious EV incentive policy and fashion the state as an independent, low-emission technology manufacturer.
The EV Council boss said “ministers across the government continued to look at levers to pull to smooth an accelerated transition to EVs”, adding he’d personally found “the new government in opposition has always been positive in their approach to EVs”.
“The previous government had the time to prove they were a 10/10 when it came to electric vehicles,” Jafari said.
“The Labor government has that same potential and we hope with time they prove to be just as strong.”
Will Labor rise to meet the former NSW government’s EV ambitions? Let us know your thoughts by writing to letters@crikey.com.au. Please include your full name to be considered for publication. We reserve the right to edit for length and clarity.
Why was it the best? EVs or ICE, Sydney is still a freeway soaked toll road hellhole, the focus should be on better public transport and city design. We shouldn’t be subsidising more of Elon Musk ego.
there are EVs besides Tesla
And much better ones. In the latest Chinese EV manufacturers reliability report, Tesla was ranked 22nd out of 26.
Do you have a cite for that claim? I can imagine that Teslas are more expensive than their Chinese counterparts, but from what I have observed (from casually following the subject for several years), they are both “better” and at least as reliable.
A better transport policy would go something like: Reduce, Socialise, Electrify. Reduce (make walkable density) and socialise (active and public transport) are both “better” than any private electric car. And therefore should be the focus of government time and money.
Now here’s a thought……………….
………why not do both?
Build on Kean’s groundwork and bring in manufacturing at the same time. Building electric buses is no radical departure (they are already being built both in Australia and overseas) and Sydney has one of the biggest bus fleets to work with. I can remember when there were enormous government depots dedicated to maintaining and rebuilding the bus fleet.
If Labor end up in minority government (as seems likely), the Greens and Independents are not going to let them trash the only decent legacy the Liberals had.
Kean’s policies were very much influenced by Saul Griffith, author of the latest Quarterly Essay and advisor to the Biden administration on electrification. There is nothing to stop the new Labor government from consulting him as he has made it clear he will talk with anyone & everyone on practical solutions to this most urgent of issues.
Politely disagree, why does Labor need to consult with an individual influencer or guru?
Labor NSW, interstate and federally, after decades of egregious neglect and avoidance in favour of fossil fuels, can analysis & research developments, innovations, the state of play, locally and elsewhere; doesn’t need to be a one off influencer in the US…..although very popular in Oz.
Need for locally grounded policies i.e. transport and energy have to be focused upon inc. more renewable energy generation & infrastructure, public transport infrastructure investment, electrification of regional rail and removing any direct/indirect fossil fuels incentives.
Will they though?. I have written to and emailed numerous politicians, including Minister for Industry and Science (following his photoshoot in the Gelion factory), Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, the Arts and Laader of the of the House, the local Greens federal candidate, the local federal member (labor), and end the leader of the Greens. I had some suggestions about how the clever country could transition to the hydrogen economy, using renewables and methane capture, reducing the risk of catastrophic bushfires by selectively removing the bush fuel and using to generate biocharr (+volatile hydrocarbons which can be used as hydrogen donors, and as feedstock for the chemical industry). This would replace the dependance on fossil fuel extraction. The central hypothesis is that we engage the scientific and engineering prowess of Australia to create an industry producing affrordable fuel cells. In the past these have been too expensive due to their reliance on rare earth metals such as platinum, and palladium. There have been a nmber of reports recently that have described catalysis of renewables such as waste methane suitable hydrogen donors using cheap, abundant, metals such as copper, iron and zinc. This has been shown to work in combination with zeolites (kitty litter is one form).
I do not not claim to be an expert in this area, but I was disappointed to receive no reply (apart from 2 chatboxAI generated pieces of drivel); not even an acknowledgement from the others. I concluded that it was a waste of time trying to influence politicians who have, apparently, no knowledge of science and/ or engineering.
If Australia taxed exports of key unprocessed minerals we could use the proceeds for electrification, industry and household adjustment, and the highest-quality environmental protections. Our export performance would improve and we would check the slide in our economic complexity, while attracting high-skilled, well-paid jobs.
Japan used to levy a 30% Export Tax on everything that left the country.
In 1974, I had to go out to Tokyo airport to pick up a Visa to enter Russia, well the USSR. I was then hit with an Export Levy of USD20.00 because I didn’t Declare it on Entry. When I argued that I couldn’t Declare something that wasn’t then in my possession, they countered with, that’s correct, so you are exporting it and that attracts the Export Tax.
Other spiked incentives from Kean, …..
I’ve no idea what “spiked” means. Isn’t there an English word that would do the job? Aren’t Keens incentives in force already, and will Labor continue with them?
Kean’s incentives
An old journos. term for “put on the long finger” is “spiked”- usually when a piece is inadequate for purpose but on hand & ready to run as filler, if at all.
Well, I’m glad old journos will catch its meaning, but I’m still struggling. Policies already in force can’t very well be “spiked”. Old English might be less misleading for old fools like me.