Angus Taylor (Hume, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Climate Change and Energy. I refer to the minister's last answer. Can the minister confirm that the ute owner would need to own the vehicle for 33 years to break even?

Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I think we should probably be grateful that the opposition now realises that such a thing as an electric ute exists, given the Deputy Leader of the Opposition was a ute denier not that long ago—a ute denier! The Deputy Leader of the Opposition said there is no such thing as an electric ute not that long ago, and now they are saying they're expensive.

Yes, it is the case that different models have different costs. Of course that is the case, but it is also the case that rigorous analysis of our policies, released in the impact statement by the minister for transport and me, showed $140 billion in benefits to all Australians out to 2050, $12 billion in fuel savings for motorists by 2030, $108 billion dollars in fuel savings by 2050—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Hume on a point of order?

Angus Taylor (Hume, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Relevance, Mr Speaker. It was a very specific question about the payback on the ute that the minister has been showcasing that can only go 150 kilometres.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister has had a little while, but I'm going to ask him to get to the question. He can refer to his previous answer because that was in the question, but he needs to refine his remarks as it was quite a tight question. He has the call.

Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member asked about cost and benefits of different models of cars, and I'm more than happy to engage. I know they don't love electric vehicles. We believe in choice for Australians to buy either an electric vehicle or a hybrid or a more fuel-efficient diesel or petrol car, which are available in the rest of the world but not in Australia and not in Russia because we're the only two major economies without fuel efficiency standards. The Leader of the Opposition says he wants to be with Russia—so be it. If you want to be with Russia, that's your approach. That's his big plan for Australia: to stay back in the past, not have efficiency standards and not give Australians choice between electric vehicles, diesel vehicles that are more efficient, petrol vehicles that are more efficient and hybrids.

That's why we are proposing a policy under which an average new car buyer in 2028 will cut their annual fuel costs by around $1,000. The member for Bradfield put it so eloquently in that op-ed in theAustralian jointly with the then member for Kooyong when he said, 'People in regional and rural areas will be the big winners from fuel efficiency standards.' He put it so well. And maybe that is why the RACQ, the peak body for motorists in Queensland, wrote, 'A well-designed standard'—

Opposition members interjecting—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order!

Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

They're very sensitive over there, Mr Speaker. They wrote, 'A well-designed standard that boosts efficient and safer vehicle supply will ultimately deliver a lower total cost of ownership for motorists.'

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! There was far too much noise during that answer. I remind all ministers to stick to the standing orders.