Motor Vehicles (Electric Vehicle Levy) Amendment Repeal Bill – Second Reading Speech
Wednesday 28 September 2022
S.E. ANDREWS (Gibson) (16:59): I rise to support the Motor Vehicles (Electric Vehicle Levy) Amendment Repeal Bill 2022. This bill will repeal the new tax that the previous Liberal government introduced because this government wishes to encourage the use of vehicles that have a substantially lower impact on our environment.
The levy was a distance-based charge for electric vehicles as an addition to the registration of an electric vehicle—a penalty, in fact, for those who want to reduce emissions. From the levy's commencement, electric vehicle owners would have been charged 2¢ per kilometre travelled in a plug-in hybrid vehicle or 2.5¢ per kilometre for any other electric vehicle.
Why was this tax applied allegedly as a substitute for fuel excise which is a federal tax? It is not a like-for-like tax and would contribute nothing to new roads or infrastructure in South Australia. The estimated $1 million would have gone into general revenue and potentially funded further Liberal waste rather than worthy projects.
The former state government, like its federal counterparts, did not value the environment. The now Leader of the Opposition chipped away at small projects while neglecting our River Murray. Our government is taking a national approach and accessing the best experts from across Australia by contributing to Australia's first National Electric Vehicle Strategy, led by federal Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Chris Bowen.
This government is taking the opportunity for South Australia to lead the way, rather than imposing taxes that would hurt the growth in electric vehicles. The levy introduced by the previous government would have been a major disincentive to purchasing an electric vehicle. While the road user charge would not have commenced for some time, passing this repeal bill as soon as possible will provide certainty for those looking to purchase an electric vehicle.
A survey undertaken by the Australia Institute in 2021 showed that seven in 10 South Australians would be less likely to purchase an electric vehicle if a new road user charge were to be introduced, seven in 10 South Australians who would choose petrol or diesel vehicles over electric due to the tax imposed by the former government. So 2¢ or 2.5¢ per kilometre may not sound much, but with the rising cost of living every cent counts.
Abolishing the levy will deliver on another government election commitment because the Malinauskas government is a government that delivers on its commitments and listens to South Australians. This government is not just axing the tax but also encouraging the uptake of electric vehicles. There are average annual savings estimated for electric vehicle adopters for fuel costs and maintenance costs.
This bill will support the uptake of electric vehicles by preserving financial benefits for the ownership of electric vehicles over internal combustion engine vehicles. Electrifying our transport fleet is a vital part of the overall transition from carbon-emitting technologies to a greener, cleaner future that accords with our state parliament's recent declaration of a climate emergency.
Passenger cars make up almost 10 per cent of Australia's CO2 emissions. Supporting the uptake of electric vehicles will contribute to South Australia's ability to achieve net zero emissions. Our state government is delivering 7,000 electric vehicle purchase subsidies of $3,000 and a three-year registration fee exemption. I know that this is music to the ears of Sally Knight, the Chair of the Australian Electric Vehicle Association in South Australia and one of my constituents in Gibson. Incentives, not taxes. Support, not additional costs.
This government is supporting the RAA to construct the state's first electric vehicle charging network of over 500 charging stations at 140 sites in 52 locations around South Australia. The South Australian government awarded a grant of almost $12.4 million to the RAA to construct and operate Australia's first statewide electric vehicle rapid charging network. The network will comprise 536 fast and rapid chargers across 140 electric vehicle charging stations in 52 rural, regional and metropolitan service locations.
While exact locations are still being finalised, there are plans for 26 sites in Adelaide, including 10 in the CBD. The RAA will start the design and construction of the EV charging network in supermarkets, car parks, town centres, council-owned sites, hotels and motels throughout South Australia. It is anticipated that the network will be finalised by the end of 2023. The rural and regional sites will provide certainty for electric vehicle owners travelling across our state and will forever kill the myth of the former federal government that the rise of EVs will end the weekend.
Additionally, our government is progressing nine electric vehicle smart-charging trials to demonstrate how electric vehicle charging can be integrated into the grid to realise electricity cost savings for all South Australians. As part of these government-supported trials, smart-charging stations will be installed across metropolitan and regional areas, including shopping centres, off-street car parks, hotels, motels and holiday parks.
The smart-charging trials will demonstrate ways electric vehicle drivers can be incentivised to charge during periods of high renewable electricity generation or low grid demand. This will support the grid, reducing electricity costs for all consumers. Some trials involve vehicles providing electricity back to the grid, acting as batteries on wheels.
New business models are also being trialled that will improve charging service availability and improve financial sustainability for operators. This will include tapping into new revenue streams, such as frequency services in the National Electricity Market, which will reduce operator reliance on charging service fees for financial viability. In total, there are nine recipients of the $3.2 million in grant funding.
The trials will deliver a total of 142 new fast and rapid electric vehicle charging bays for South Australian motorists and attract around $4.8 million of private investment in the development and construction. The trials will also lead to 12 months of data collection and knowledge sharing for innovative smart-charging infrastructure and systems.
I am proud to see three of these trials will be in or very close to the electorate of Gibson. The first trial is the Jolt trial in Marion. This trial will tap into drivers' instincts to seek a bargain at the bottom of the fuel cycle. Using roadside LCD advertising displays and in-app notifications, Jolt will promote low-cost surge pricing to activate consumer behaviour to turn in and save during incentivised times. The key objective of this trial will be to quantify the impact of charging incentives on consumer behaviours and demonstrate the role that EVs can play to balance electricity supply and demand loads during the day.
The second local trial is being run by ENGIE in car parks 2, 3 and 9 at Flinders University. This is one of Australia's largest vehicle-to-grid trials, with ENGIE integrating 22 managed smart-charging stations into a campus-level virtual battery to demonstrate how electric vehicles could be harnessed to support South Australia's electricity system during peak demand periods. The trial will demonstrate the alignment of electric vehicle charging and discharging to periods of renewable generation or grid demand through participation in ENGIE's South Australian Virtual Power Plant.
The final trial is with Planet Ark Power at the Foodland Pasadena Shopping centre. This trial includes the installation of 14 fast and rapid charging bays and a battery energy storage system that will store as much renewable electricity as 125 home batteries. The trial will measure benefits including renewable energy use, customer satisfaction, return visits, and the economic value to shopping centres of electric vehicle charging stations.
The smart chargers will fully charge an electric vehicle in 15 to 45 minutes as a customer enters the shopping centre and activates the electric vehicle boost, enough time to complete a shop at Foodland, browse the local specialty shops or grab lunch. Once completed, the battery storage system here will be the first of its kind built at a South Australian shopping centre. These are three very exciting trials and I encourage all electric vehicle owners in the south or east of Adelaide to utilise these facilities and motorists from across Adelaide to look out for other trials underway.
There are over 6,500 vehicles in the South Australian government fleet. In total, these vehicles travel around 110 million kilometres, equating to over 21,000 tonnes of CO2. There is a requirement for South Australian government agencies to transition to plug-in electric vehicles if they are cost effective on a total cost of ownership basis or if the additional cost can be managed by improving fleet utilisation.
The benefits of the orderly transition of our government fleet to electric vehicles will be twofold. It will meaningfully contribute to lowering our state's carbon footprint and help us to achieve net zero emissions. Additionally, it will help saturate the second-hand market with electric vehicles, reducing a current lack of availability as well as reducing the up-front cost for people looking to purchase an electric vehicle.
It would be remiss of me not to mention that South Australia has been part of the World Solar Challenge since 1987 and, further, that the global Formula E series is looking at Australia as a future destination for a round. Sally Knight would like to see an electric Adelaide 500, which I personally believe would be a very exciting event, especially given the huge support we have for the traditional Adelaide 500. I look forward to that race in December. I commend this bill to the house.
