Tony Pasin (Barker, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Transport) Share this | Hansard source

The member for McEwen—not sitting in his seat, I note, Madam Deputy Speaker, and you are an exemplar for the rules—says 'rubbish'. I'll take that interjection. Why does he say 'rubbish'? In my electorate, there are almost no EVs. Why? Because they don't suit the needs of the people that live in my electorate. If the member for Higgins were right, and this were just a product of the free market, then, if it suited their needs, there would be a lot of people in my electorate taking up this opportunity. But at the Wagin Woolorama, all the way in Western Australia, I took the opportunity to check in with a Toyota dealer. I said: 'Oh, this new electric Toyota that I've just seen'—which, by the way, proudly puts a sticker on it that says 'carbon emissions: zero'. I don't know what electricity goes in the vehicle that can be completely carbon neutral for all its life, but apparently it will always have renewable energy. I asked, 'For a comparable Toyota, how much less expensive is it if it is an ICE vehicle?'—for those opposite, an internal combustion engine—and it was $30,000. So what those opposite are saying is that $30,000 is the price people should pay for this choice.

The reality is that, even if you bought that $30,000-more-expensive car in my electorate, it couldn't do the things it needs to do. The three most sold vehicles in this country at the moment—the Ford Ranger, the Isuzu D-MAX and the Toyota LandCruiser—are all vehicles that are not going to be serviced by this. This is asking country Peter, who is buying himself a LandCruiser, to pay for city Paul's Tesla. That's what this is, because Teslas will be cheaper.

While I'm talking about Tesla, I note that, while that might not be one of the examples of Chinese made vehicles, the majority of these are. But I will tell you what is made in China: every single one of these batteries. I don't necessarily agree with everything the member for New England says; I agree with a lot of what he says. One thing he says is that our job is to make our country as strong as it can be as quickly as can be. This policy not only makes Australians poorer but weakens Australia and strengthens our No. 1 strategic opponent.

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