NSW budget: Berejiklian government to invest in electric vehicles, introduce road user charge
NSW to join Victoria and South Australia in implementing a controversial tax on electric vehicles.
The NSW government is set to announce a $490 million investment in electric vehicles as part of Tuesday’s state budget, and will join Victoria and South Australia in implementing a controversial new tax on drivers of battery-powered cars.
The measure — in the form of tax cuts and incentives for electric vehicle buyers — includes a move to permanently phase out stamp duty on EVs, to instead be replaced with a per-kilometre road user charge.
From September this year, the government will also waive stamp duty for eligible electric vehicles under $78,000 and give $3,000 rebates for the first 25,000 buyers of battery and hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles.
The announcement comes just three months after internal divisions over the road user charge between NSW Environment Minister Matt Kean and the Treasurer Dominic Perrottet were made public.
Mr Kean did not initially not support the introduction of a road user charge until EVs made up a larger portion of cars on the road, amid concerns it would discourage drivers from buying electric vehicles and help the state move closer to net-zero emissions.
South Australia and Victoria have both opted to introduce EV road user taxes, designed to make up for lost fuel subsidy revenue.
Car manufacturers and environmental groups have also opposed the tax.
In response to the criticism, the Victorian government in May announced a $3,000 subsidy for EVs that cost less than $69,000, and set a target of over 50 per cent of new cars being low-emission vehicles by 2030.
The Queensland government has refused to follow suit, instead opting to establish an “electric highway” of fast charging stations along the length of its coast.
In late May, the ACT government waived two years’ worth of car registration fees for Canberra residents who purchased an EV, and promised $15,000 in interest-free loans to buy them.
As part of the NSW budget measure, $171 million will be invested in new charging infrastructure across the state, and as well as a move to transition the NSW government fleet to EVs by 2030.
The NSW government says individual drivers will save around $1,000 a year in running costs by switching to an EV, which can go up to $7,500 a year for businesses, taxis and freight.
Mr Kean said the “nation-leading” plan was forecast to see EV new car sales hit 52 per cent by 2030.
“We know that with new cars staying on the road 15 years on average, the vast majority of new cars sold in NSW need to be EVs by 2035 to achieve net zero emissions by 2050,” Mr Kean said.
“Our aim is to increase EV sales to more than 50 per cent of new cars sold in NSW by 2030 and for EVs to be the vast majority of new cars sold in the state by 2035.”
Minister for Transport and Roads Andrew Constance said the EV strategy would help the NSW government take action on climate change.
“Our transport sector currently makes up 20 per cent of the state’s emissions, with almost 50 per cent of those coming from passenger vehicles,” Mr Constance said.
“Electric vehicles are not only cheaper to run and quieter on our roads, but they also reduce both carbon emissions and air pollution which results in dramatically improved health outcomes for our communities.”
“As the world’s right-hand drive market moves to manufacturing electric vehicles, we have to make sure we have the policies in place to give industry the green light to increase model availability and cut entry price points.”
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