EV Policy? The States Take Charge

Disparate and confusing policies emerge; key question remains: how to tax and incentivise...

- Chris Thompson

AUSTRALIA’S LACK of a coherent policy on electric vehicles has once again been put under the spotlight, with two hot-button topics– an EV road tax and government subsidies – making national headlines for all the wrong reasons.

A void in federal EV policy has prompted individual state governments to take matters into their own hands, with their focus inevitably on revenue-raising.

Only in recent months has the Federal Government released its Future Fuels Strategy (yes, the FFS!) discussion paper. It suggests some incentives for businesses to transition to EVs (but no specifics) and notes the government’s previous $21 million commitment to building charging stations along with major highway networks.

However, the lack of decisive action and often misguided rhetoric rolled out by politicians has drawn increasing frustration from car companies and EV organisations as Australia lags behind other nations.