Bert Van Manen (Forde, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

The tradespeople across my electorate and those who are self-employed will not get the benefit from this, and I'd like to know how that's going to benefit them.

What is also not spoken about is the impact of this on the electricity network and the capacity for the network to accommodate the increased usage that a greater take-up of electric vehicles will cause. The government have said they're going to invest in the electricity network, but all of that investment comes at a cost. It is a regulated asset, which means a regulated return to those investors, which all reflects in your electricity bills. We might have a saving on one hand of $5,000 through a reduction in the fringe benefits tax, but what are we going to pay in increased electricity bills as a result of this additional investment and the regulated return that that will require on those investments?

As I look at this bill and all of the actions that those opposite are taking where they are proposing to reduce the cost of living for everyday Australians, I fail to see how that's actually going to be achieved. Through their policies, they are going to increase the cost of living, not reduce the cost of living.

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