Cameron Caldwell (Fadden, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Australians should decide what car they drive, not the Prime Minister. Labor's new family car tax will add thousands of dollars to cars that Australians love to drive and need to drive. We have seen, before, the consequences of Labor's obsession with reaching net zero in some sort of world-record time and promoting big new taxes, and—make no mistake—we are seeing it again.

Industry have made their concerns clear, releasing modelling that shows that Australians soon could be paying up to $18,000 more for their favourite ute and up to $25,000 more for their favourite SUV. Despite these warnings from peak industry bodies against the fuel efficiency standard, Labor are forging ahead without consideration for those who it will hurt the most. Labor's policy will hit families who rely on SUVs to get their kids to school and tradies who rely on utes to do their jobs. Labor's new vehicle efficiency standardmay result in lower running costs for your cars, but not if you can't afford to buy one. This is just another example of Labor having the wrong priorities. Instead of addressing the cost of living, this latest rushed pursuit of a car and ute tax will only hit vulnerable Australians.

Young working families are the backbone of our country. They're doing it tough under this Albanese Labor government, yet this government insists on making it tougher.