Sussan Ley (Farrer, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Women) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Climate Change and Energy. I refer to the Prime Minister's answer in question time yesterday regarding the new electric version of the RAV4, the Toyota bZ4X. Can the minister confirm, under this government's new tax on cars and utes, that this car is set to sell for $74,900, nearly $35,000 more than the base model of this vehicle sold in Australia today?

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

What I can confirm is that Australians will have more choices with vehicle efficiency standards. That's what I can confirm.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister will pause. The member for Fairfax is warned. That means no more interjections.

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

I say to those members of the National Party and those rural and regional Liberals that perhaps they should listen to their constituents a little more. The minister for transport and I received a letter a little while ago. I'm going to share a few parts of it with the House:

My name is Peter Stray. I'm a fifth generation beef and sheep farmer in the Golden Plains region of Victoria.

Thank you for your promise to design and deliver fuel efficiency standards for Australia.

Opposition members interjecting—

You don't want to hear from Peter Stray?

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister will pause. The minister reading out a letter in response to questions about cost and the types of vehicles, I think, would be considered directly relevant in anyone's review. So let's just hope for the best. The Deputy Leader of the Opposition on a point of order.

Sussan Ley (Farrer, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Women) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My point of order is on relevance because it was an incredibly tight question.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It also included the Prime Minister's answer from yesterday, so it wasn't tight. If you're referring to subject matter that's been raised in the parliament before, that's going to allow the minister, as I was explaining to the House, to read the letter. I don't know what's in this letter. I don't know who's written the letter besides Peter. But I want to listen to make sure that the letter is being relevant to the question.

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

Peter Stray from She Oaks in the Golden Plains of Victoria wrote to the minister for transport and me and said:

I am writing to urge you to make our standards strong and well designed. We need them to be competitive and effective so Australian farmers can get our hands on cleaner utes and cars that are cheaper to run.

…   …   …

Farming is getting harder.

The Leader of the Nationals doesn't care about Peter Stray. Peter writes:

With an El Nino declared, we started destocking because I don't want to go through another season wondering if I can feed my animals.

…   …   …

We want cleaner, lower emissions farm operations—including our vehicles. But we can't make the business case stack up because the choice of electric and fuel efficient vehicles on the market in Australia is so limited. They're also far too expensive.

Opposition members interjecting—

They really don't want to hear Peter. He writes:

There are utes being made with ranges of around 800km now. If we can sort our fuel efficiency standards out, those utes will make it to Australia instead of just to the EU and US.

I already drive further and pay more for fuel than those in the city, so the cost of living impact is getting increasingly real.

Australia is one of the only wealthy countries in the world without legislated national fuel efficiency standards. If we get our standards right, it'll be an incentive for manufacturers to send far more low and zero emissions new vehicles (including farm utes) to Australia.

Farmers and regional Australians want stronger Fuel Efficiency Standards.

That's from Peter Stray, a multigenerational farmer from Golden Plains in Victoria. Why don't you be more like Peter?