Kelvin Thomson (Wills, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This afternoon I want to sing the praises of factory-built LPG vehicles. I have been driving a factory-built Ford Fairmont for the past couple of months. I am most impressed by its performance, how easy it is to refuel at petrol stations everywhere, its range—which exceeds 500 kilometres—and, in particular, its economy. It has been costing just $33 or $34 to fill up the tank, so for 500 kilometres it represents excellent value. I can also report that there is very little loss of boot space, which is one of the things that people have worried about with LPG conversions. In the case of the factory-built vehicle, the LPG tank is stored below the boot floor leaving just the spare tyre intruding into the boot space, and I personally find that quite manageable.

I want to commend the factory-built LPG vehicles to Australian motorists on two counts. Firstly, obviously there are the running costs. The poor old Australian motorist has been hit hard by petrol price rises in the last few years, so being able to cut those fuel bills is a fine thing, and LPG really does cut them. Secondly, they reduce greenhouse gas emissions. I understand that both the Ford and Mitsubishi dedicated LPG vehicles provide a 10 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions over the equivalent petrol-powered vehicle. Ten per cent might not seem like a lot, but when it comes to tackling climate change every little bit helps and we need to look at every aspect of our greenhouse gas emissions to see how we can do better. Australia’s road transport sector produced 76 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2004 and accounted for 13 per cent of total greenhouse gas emissions. Emissions from transport have been growing at two per cent per annum over the past decade and we need to turn this around. Furthermore, LPG not only has fewer carbon emissions; it also has fewer photochemical-producing compounds and fewer air toxics such as benzene.

While I think LPG cars have a really important role to play in Australia, I am not suggesting that they represent the long-term solution. I am a very strong supporter of the $2 billion green car partnership announced in Adelaide this time last week by the Leader of the Opposition, the member for Kingsford Smith, and Senator Kim Carr. This involves a $5 million green car innovation fund designed to generate $2 billion in investment to secure jobs in the automotive industry and tackle climate change by manufacturing low-emission vehicles in Australia. Industry will be asked to match a $500 million government contribution on a $1 to $3 basis. The Commonwealth’s investment in the green car partnership will be conditional on the achievement of solid commercial and environmental outcomes. It is about giving Australians the opportunity to buy Australian made green cars.

The Green Car Innovation Fund complements federal Labor’s green car challenge in March where we pledged to purchase for the Commonwealth fleet value-for-money, environmentally friendly vehicles such as hybrid vehicles if they were produced in Australia. Indeed, it is the case that hybrids have great potential to reduce carbon emissions. Standard vehicles manufactured in Australia produce around 250 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre. Hybrids manufactured overseas produce less than half that—106 grams per kilometre—and the Honda Civic hybrid and the Toyota Prius are now commercially available hybrid petrol-electric vehicles.

Hybrid cars use an electric motor to supplement a petrol engine. This reduces CO emissions by ensuring that the petrol engine is used as its most efficient, for cruising, while the motor kicks in for acceleration. The fact that hybrids still require petrol means that some people see them as a bridge to solutions that reduce emissions even further, rather than the final solution themselves. Many industry insiders are predicting that hydrogen fuel cells will be the way of the future. Fuel cells produce an electric car that produces its own electricity rather than relying on batteries. They do so by creating a chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen. While this sounds ideal, a commercially viable product is still some years away.

The important thing is that Australians do not believe that there is nothing we can do about global warming; they do not believe the counsel of despair. There are lots of things that we all can do. Together we can achieve a great deal, and every little bit helps. With leadership from government and engagement from the community we can reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and we can tackle global warming.