Peter Khalil (Wills, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government. What progress has there been on fuel efficiency standards? Why is this important? What arguments did the government reject?

Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Of course, earlier today the House passed the Albanese Labor government's new vehicle efficiency standards—the standard that is right for Australia and has been developed with Australian car users in mind. It's a standard that will deliver Australians a choice of more cars, whether they are petrol, whether they are diesel or whether they are hybrid or electric. It's a standard that will save Australians thousands of dollars at the bowser and a standard that is well past time to actually be delivered in this country.

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

Order! The Leader of the Nationals will cease interjecting.

Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's a standard that of course will also reduce emissions and a standard that will ensure Australians can continue to buy the utes and the SUVs that they love.

We have consulted very closely with the car manufacturers, the dealer representatives and climate groups to ensure that all views were considered in this standard. The legislation is widely supported by a range of stakeholders. The reality is that this is a policy the opposition had promised for decades yet failed to deliver themselves. It's a policy that the member for Bradfield tried and failed to deliver, and we have had to do the hard work that he could not. Under this reform, people will still be able to buy whatever car they want that suits them and their families, just as they can overseas. This is about making cars more efficient right across the board, whether they're petrol, diesel, hybrid or an EV.

This is an important reform for the nation, and I must say there has been a lot of misinformation and mistruths regarding this reform, so let me clear some of that up. Firstly, it's said that this would increase prices and reduce choice for consumers and that somehow we would be killing the ute. That is simply untrue. As we know, the member for Bradfield said:

So when fuel efficiency standards were introduced in the US, the most popular models before introduction stayed the most popular models after introduction … what we'd call utes … There wasn't a material change in price and we don't expect that there would be a material change in price here.

It was true when the member for Bradfield said it, and it is true today. What the modelling actually shows is that this standard will bring more choices of more modern vehicles into the Australian market and save Australians $1,000 a year, on average, in fuel costs.

Opposition members interjecting—

I hear the interjections from those opposite about the debate. You dealt yourself out of this debate when you said, before you had even seen the legislation, that you would be voting against it. You didn't want to debate this legislation; you wanted to grandstand. That's what you wanted to do. And you continue to spread misinformation to regional communities, who will save thousands of dollars at the petrol bowser as a result of this government's decisions. (Time expired)