Bowen opens door to new car emissions changes

Chris Bowen says Labor will consider sensible proposals that could result in changes to the government’s model aimed at reducing emissions from new cars.

Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Martin Ollman

Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen says he is open to “sensible” changes to the government’s new vehicle pollution standards aimed at achieving a 60 per cent reduction in average new car emissions by 2029.

Scheduled to start in 2025, Labor’s preferred model was described by the Department of Infrastructure and Transport as “strong, ambitious and achievable” in its February “impact analysis”.

But the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries warned this month that the proposal would cause “significant disruption for large sections of the industry” and result in “less choice and higher retail prices for Australian consumers”.

Representing car manufacturers and importers, the FCAI said implementation of the proposed targets would have “a disastrous commercial impact” and “may result in the exit of some models from the Australian market.”

The hardline stance taken by the FCAI resulted in electric vehicle giants Tesla and Polestar quitting the group.

Mr Bowen told the ABC’s Insiders program on Sunday that he and Infrastructure Minister Catherine King “didn’t have to” consult with industry and warned the government “could have just introduced this legislation”. But he did open the door to taking “sensible” change on board during the consultation process.

“We chose to consult because we want to make sure we’ve hoovered up all the good ideas about how to implement this,” he said. “Where an idea has been made to us sensibly, we will consider it sensibly, in good faith, to help the implementation of what is a big and complicated policy space. We are not going to be ... bullied out of proceeding with a policy which is in the best interest of the Australian people.”

Mr Bowen has argued the government’s proposed changes would “save motorists $12bn in fuel costs by 2030, and $108bn by 2050”. He has promoted analysis from his department claiming the new standards would save the driver of an average new and more efficient car in 2028 about $1000 a year in fuel costs.

Opposition climate change and energy spokesman Ted O'Brien.

But opposition climate change and energy spokesman Ted O’Brien on Sunday dismissed the analysis, declaring “nothing Chris Bowen says is true”.

“The Coalition said from the get-go ... that we’re happy to work constructively with the government, but they have to strike the right balance between emissions, price and choice,” he told Sky News. “They have failed to strike any balance there.”

Mr O’Brien said Australia’s top five vehicles – including the Ford Ranger, Toyota HiLux, Isuzu D-Max, Toyota RAV4 and MG ZS – would not meet the standards introduced by Labor and would face hefty penalties.