Jim Chalmers (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for North Sydney, not just for moving these amendments to the bill but also for the opportunity that we've had to discuss them with her and some colleagues from different parts of the parliament as well. We share the member for North Sydney's objective to build a decent second-hand market for electric vehicles. We are not interested in supporting this particular amendment for the following reasons.

What we've got already, in the way that the bill is constructed, is the capacity to build a second-hand market over time by creating that cut-off for second-hand vehicles imported after 1 July this year. We have given some thought to the member for North Sydney's amendment, which would be to bring that cut-off date further back into history to allow for some older cars to come into the market. I do understand and appreciate why the member for North Sydney, who comes to this with the best possible motivations around electric vehicles, would like to do that. We feel like the most appropriate place to draw the line is at 1 July, and that will mean that over time, as time passes from that 1 July cut-off going forward, there will be more second-hand vehicles brought into the system, and that will be a good thing.

The way we understand it is that most lease providers are unlikely to offer older imported second-hand vehicles to employees, and this measure is relatively narrowly cast around the leasing arrangements for employers providing these cars to employees. But, as we've indicated privately and are very happy to indicate publicly, as part of the National Electric Vehicle Strategy, which the Minister for Climate Change and Energy, in conjunction with the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, me and others, will be consulting on broadly, we would consider the kinds of suggestions made by the member for North Sydney and others as part of that broader strategy. But, for the time being, our interest is in locking down this deadline as we've proposed it in the legislation before us. And so, unfortunately, and respectfully, we won't be supporting the amendment.

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