Tim Storer (SA, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Defence, Senator Cormann. Several members of parliament have repeatedly expressed concerns around Australia's liquid fuel security, given we now import more than 90 per cent of our transport fuels—up from 60 per cent in 2000—and, according to Department of the Environment and Energy data, we had a mere 21 days of petrol stock, 16 days of diesel and 19 days of aviation fuel as of December 2017. In a submission to the Select Committee on Electric Vehicles, which I'm chairing, the former deputy chief of the RAAF, Air Vice-Marshal John Blackburn AO, said:

Electric vehicles could play a significant role in improving Australia's energy security by reducing the demand for foreign sourced liquid fuels and by providing a significant increase in transport system resilience in the event of a fuel supply disruption.

Has the government given any consideration to the role electric vehicles could play in improving our fuel security?