Key Points
- Two in three Australians support changes to speed up the switch to electric vehicles.
- More than 60 per cent of Australians also support a ban on new petrol car sales by 2035.
- More than two thirds of respondents also wanted a national fuel efficiency standard "in line with Europe".
Two out of three Australians support changes to speed up the switch to electric vehicles, including discounts to lower their prices and a fuel efficiency standard to see more models arrive in the country, a new study has found.
More than 60 per cent of Australians also support a ban on new petrol car sales by 2035.
The findings from The Australia Council's Climate of the Nation report also showed wide support for more electric vehicle charging stations in Australia, as well as electric buses and the introduction of high-speed rail.
But the report showed backing for electric transport dropped when it came to removing tax breaks for large, fuel-hungry four-wheel drives and utes.
Report author and Australia Institute transport lead Audrey Quicke said the survey of more than 2,600 people clearly showed Australians wanted "to reap the benefits of the transition to clean transport".
On electric cars, 78 per cent supported a government-funded fast-charging network, 75 per cent supported discounts for electric cars, and 69 per cent supported discounts on registration, stamp duty and road tolls for EV drivers.
More than two-thirds of respondents also wanted a national fuel efficiency standard "in line with Europe" to encourage car makers to import electric vehicles to Australia — a topic at the heart of the National Electric Vehicle Strategy consultation paper that closed on Monday.
"Fuel-efficiency standards are a common policy mechanism to ensure new cars are more efficient and less polluting," Ms Quicke said.
"With 80 per cent of the global car market already onboard, it's high time Australia caught up and no wonder most Australians support this."
The Climate of the Nation report also found that 64 per cent of Australians supported a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2035 — a policy already in place in the ACT.
But support for removing subsidies on large four-wheel drives was lower among respondents, with just over half (55 per cent) backing the change.
"The current tax system allows small business owners to write off the costs of new utes and heavy-duty vehicles," Ms Quicke said.
"However, many Australians support removing this perverse tax incentive that is currently fuelling the Aussie appetite for utes and heavy vehicles."
Griffith University lecturer Dr Anna Mortimore said the result was not surprising as Australians would ultimately support transport policies based on their wallets.
"One of the hardest areas to reduce emissions is in road transport because people have to lay out some money," she said.
"It's about playing around with policies and tax rates. At the end of the day, you want the price of a combustion-fuelled vehicle to be the same price as an electric vehicle."
Dr Mortimore said the introduction of a fuel-efficiency standard to boost supply and national tax incentives to lower their cost could shake Australia from its electric "transition phase".
Other findings from the report included wide support for connecting capital cities by high-speed rail, a transition to electric buses by 2030, better footpaths, and tax incentives for the purchase of electric bikes.
More than 60 per cent of respondents said electric vehicle subsidies should also be available for the purchase of e-bikes and cargo bikes.
"E-bike subsidies are a particularly effective policy, as they cover a large portion of the total cost of the bike, which often ends up replacing car trips," Ms Quicke said.
"For many Australians, so many of the trips taken in a car could be replaced with a bike, e-bike or walking - whether it's the grocery run, school drop-off or commute. What's needed is better infrastructure and government support to make e-bikes more affordable."
