Sophie Scamps (Mackellar, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Kooyong, too, for raising this matter of public importance on the opportunity for Australia to improve our sovereign capability and make energy cheaper for everyday Australians through the clean energy transition. I will focus today on household transport, something that is particularly topical considering the recent petrol price hikes that have occurred in response to the Middle East war—price hikes that are impacting Australians across the country right now.

It must be noted that we live in an increasingly volatile world. In just a handful of years, we've had a number of major international disruptions, including the COVID pandemic, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and now the war in Iran. Australia's poor fuel security remains one of our biggest national vulnerabilities and drives up cost of living. Yet one of the most effective ways to reduce this risk is often overlooked, and that is investing in electric and active transport. The International Energy Agency has emphasised this point. In response to the oil shock, triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine back in 2022, the IEA released a 10-point plan to cut oil use aimed at easing market strain. Among its key recommendations were making public transport cheaper; incentivising micro-mobility, walking and cycling; and speeding up the adoption of electric and more efficient vehicles.

For more than a decade, analysts and industry have warned Australian governments about our poor fuel security. Australia imports more than 90 per cent of our refined fuel, tying households and businesses to volatile global markets. The 2020 Liquid Fuel Security review revealed that, alarmingly, the emergency powers to ration fuel stocks could take up to three weeks to implement in the event of a fuel emergency. We remain non-compliant with the IEA obligation to hold 90 days of net oil imports. As a country that imports the majority of our liquid fuels, it will always be difficult to achieve this target.

The more reliant our transport sector is on foreign oil, the more exposed Australians are to higher prices during global conflicts. The faster we shift our cars, vans and buses off petrol, the more capacity we free up to tackle more difficult fuel security problems such as diesel for freight and aviation fuel. Accelerating the uptake of electric vehicles, especially public transport, and shifting shorter car trips to walking, cycling or e-mobility devices will directly reduce our dependence on imported oil. It is important to note that around two-thirds of the car journeys in our cities are able to be walked, wheeled or cycled in 15 minutes or less.

The new vehicle efficiency standards, introduced by government in 2024 following a strong push from the crossbench, were a great first step. We've heard there are now twice as many EVs on our roads as there were two years ago. Yet the government is now considering winding back tax incentives and exemptions for EVs purchased through novated leasing programs. This is despite electric vehicles still making up only 13 per cent of new car sales in Australia. Now is not the time to be removing the very incentives that are helping people make this switch. We need clear targets, as well, to reach 100 per cent electric passenger car sales, just as countries like the UK and France have already set. We also need stronger support for charging infrastructure right across the country, and, importantly, we must introduce policies that help low-income households and renters make the transition to electric vehicles.

Australia also desperately needs proactive policies and investment to increase our active transport rate. Currently, we spend $714 per person on roads every year, but just 90c goes to walking, wheeling and cycling. The government's Active Transport Fund is woefully inadequate. The Australia Institute research has shown that the $100 million in the Active Transport Fund would only be enough to build 25 kilometres to 50 kilometres of new separated bike paths. In contrast, France plans to invest the equivalent of around A$3.2 billion in cycling infrastructure between 2023 and 2027, and they have committed to building 100,000 kilometres of cycle lanes by 2023. (Time expired)

See this speech in context