Luke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'll keep my contribution short to allow the Treasurer to make some closing remarks. I want to follow up on an opinion piece I wrote in the Northern Territory News recently about fuel gouging in the Northern Territory and introducing our electric car discount, which will remove import duties on electric and low-emission cars. This is one part of our plan to reduce emissions and cut power bills by investing in renewables. The electric car discount will reduce the upfront and ownership costs of electric vehicles, addressing a significant barrier to their uptake. Our government is committed to reducing transport emissions and is making electric cars more affordable for the families and businesses that want them, including in the Northern Territory. That's why our government is tabling this bill, fulfilling our election commitment of providing an electric vehicle discount by means of a fringe benefit tax exemption for eligible electric cars that are provided by employers.

Currently, the fringe benefits tax is payable when an employer makes available a car, including electric car, for private use of an employee. The amendments in this bill exempt from the fringe benefit the use of eligible electric cars made available to employees or those who take up a salary sacrifice arrangement. This exemption will apply to battery electric cars, hydrogen fuel cell electric cars and plug-in hybrid electric cars below the luxury car tax threshold for fuel-efficient cars of $84,916 for all vehicles made available for use after 1 July 2022. I welcome these changes, which will ensure that employers providing employees with an eligible electric car will not pay fringe benefits. This is an important measure that will help increase the uptake of electric cars in our nation.

These policies are urgent, not only because they are fair to future generations, whose lives will be severely impacted by how we respond to climate change in coming years, but also because they will help Australians, who are facing such strong cost-of-living pressures at the cash register and in their bills. What we have seen in the Territory is fuel retailers gouging, and I am committed to continue putting pressure on them to be fair and honest with Territorians about the massive profits they are making, whilst our government also moves us towards a renewable energy future with this electric car discount.

I thank the House for the opportunity to update my constituents. Around the country we have seen that people want to embrace electric vehicles. Not everyone will want an electric vehicle, and that is fine, but more and more people will see that this is the way of the future and that it will result in cheaper bills. I commend the bill to the House.

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