Monique Ryan (Kooyong, Independent) | Hansard source

I thank the member for the Illawarra for moving this motion. The share of new vehicles sold that are electric or plug-in hybrid has grown from less than two per cent in April 2022 to almost 30 per cent today, and that exponential growth in clean transport sales now sees 515 Australians buy an EV every single day, compared to only 29 four years ago.

I support this progress towards cleaner, cheaper transport, and I support policies which put zero emission vehicles within reach of all Australians. So I commend the government on retaining the fringe benefits tax exemption on electric vehicles in the May budget. That's something that I have advocated for, to the economic roundtable last year and prior to this budget. I'm glad to see that that advocacy has succeeded. But I'm concerned that the Albanese government plans to scale back the FBT exemption from 1 April next year. The FBT exemption has been one of the most effective levers driving EV uptake. Right now, the FBT exemption is available for all eligible vehicles below the luxury car tax threshold of $91,387, but, from 1 April 2027, only EVs costing less than $75,000 will be eligible for that full exemption, and, from 1 April 2029, EVs under $75,000 will receive only a 25 per cent discount on payable fringe benefits tax.

I support targeted tax concessions and I support sustainable budget management, but not at the cost of withdrawing support at exactly the time that the EV market needs the confidence to grow. In the year to date the Tesla Model Y has been the most popular EV sold in Australia, with more than 10,000 units shipped. Some versions of this model cost close to $90,000. If we limit the fringe benefits tax exemption to cars priced at less than $75,000, we risk discouraging uptake of some of the most popular EV brands in Australia.

Globally, Australia remains an electric vehicle laggard. To grow our share of cleaner, cheaper vehicles, we have to remain an attractive market for manufacturers, and we have to foster a bigger second-hand market. If the FBT exemption is narrowed too quickly and too aggressively, before a critical mass of affordable models is really established, then that EV transition could stall.

I'm also calling for the government to reconsider restrictions on P-platers driving EVs. Anomalous regulatory settings mean that new drivers can legally drive three-tonne RAM 1500 pick-ups but not Model Y Teslas. Regulations based on a single measure—power to weight—which don't consider other safety characteristics of cars have resulted in a perverse outcome, which governments need to consider, review and revise.

We do need to continue to improve EV infrastructure, in Kooyong and across the country. Range anxiety remains real. It's particularly problematic for renters, for apartment dwellers and for those travelling through or living in rural and regional areas.

The government has to do more to build public charging infrastructure. We need binding targets. We need investment in fast charging along all the major transport corridors. We need standards requiring charging capability in all new apartment buildings. We can do these things. We can invest in ongoing FBT exemptions and in EV-charging infrastructure. Instead, the Albanese government continues to provide more than $10 billion every year to fuel tax credits which disproportionately benefit large fossil-fuel-intensive industries. If we are serious about incentivising the clean energy transition, we have to stop subsidising fossil fuel industries when we should be helping them decarbonise.

I will always support genuine progress on electrification. But this parliament's job is not to applaud. It's not to navel-gaze. It is to scrutinise. On the FBT exemption, on charging infrastructure and on fuel tax settings, this government still has a lot of work to do. EVs can't stall, but progress can. I urge the minister to go even harder to drive EV uptake.

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