David Gillespie (Lyne, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak of the impact of Labor's new vehicle standards on families, tradies and farmers in my electorate. The new carbon tax on popular SUVs, utes and four-wheel drives will push up the cost of new vehicles by up to $25,000 at purchase. It's a policy to push people into EVs whether they like them or not.

These are the types of vehicles that families, tradies and farmers are using in my electorate. The Ford Ranger, the Toyota HiLux and the Isuzu D-MAX are the top three selling cars in Australia. They are not for a run down to Pitt Street but to get kids into town for school, to take them camping, to get mum and dad to work, to get farmers out and about around their properties and to the sale yards or to get equipment in the back from the farm store. All of these occur over big distances. These are vehicles that people use in Australia to tow a caravan, a boat or horse floats. They're part and parcel of small businesses and family life in my electorate.

I've listened to the government's responses to questions asked by the opposition in question time about the impact on families of this policy. It is disappointing; the answers were absolutely not worth listening to. They're saying that you're going to save petrol money, maybe hundreds of dollars a year, when you're going to pay up to $25,000 more at purchase price for your vehicle. They don't get the practicalities of living in the bush or in rural coastal towns.

Last week I met with a number of car dealers and owners of businesses who have been operating for 40 and 50 years in my town together with my colleagues the member for Cowper and Senator Bridget McKenzie. These business operators are fair-minded and sensible people. They are not looking to score a quick political point, but the clarity they had on the impact of the new standards was very enlightening. They said the cost increases will be real and will be compounded by the challenges of living and working in regional Australia. The EV infrastructure in the regions isn't there, so it is simply not going to work. Early adopters have bought them, but most people have not. There is reasonable range anxiety. A trip around my electorate is 600 kilometres from top to bottom, and EVs wouldn't cut it. The batteries of EVs lose eight to 10 per cent a year. In five to six years an EV will only go half the difference. The cheapest petrol car is $18,300 and the cheapest EV is $46,000, and you will lose half the value of your car if you buy an EV because there is no second-hand market for EVs.

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