Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member very much for his question and for his very active leadership on matters of climate change in this House. The honourable member asks me what it means for Australian motorists that this government will introduce vehicle efficiency standards. What it means is that, after 20 years of governments promising Australian motorists and consumers they'd get better standards and better choices, this government will deliver them. This government will deliver, after 20 years of failed promises.

Five decades after the United States introduced standards, Australia will catch up. Years after Japan, China, Saudi Arabia, India, New Zealand and Canada introduced standards, Australian motorists will catch up. Six years after the previous coalition government promised to introduce the standards and consulted on details, and then squibbed it, Australia will catch up. After $4 billion of unnecessary expenditure on petrol and diesel over the last six years, as a result of the previous government knowing that they should have introduced the standards but then not proceeding, Australian motorists will finally catch up.

Now, the minister for transport and I held a press conference just before question time with Tesla and Toyota.

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