NSW Farmers has warned the federal government against hiking costs to operate trucks and tractors in the proposed Fuel Efficiency Standard.
Energy Minister Chris Bowen and Transport Minister Catherine King announced a Fuel Efficiency Standard would be introduced as part of Australia’s first National Electric Vehicle Strategy, aimed at driving cleaner, cheaper to run vehicles.The ministers said Australians households and businesses are missing out on more efficient vehicles, which could save motorists $519 per year in fuel costs.
Farmers were fearful, however, that the fuel standards could make it more expensive to run the diesel vehicles that form the backbone of Australia’s farm sector and transport fleet, in turn increasing the cost of food and goods for consumers.
NSW Farmers Energy Transition Working Group chair Reg Kidd said there were no commercial alternatives to diesel-powered trucks and tractors, and Australia’s large size meant electric vehicles were still not an option to keep the country running.
“There’s a lot of promise in electric vehicles, but the farm and transport sectors are a long way from broad-scale adoption, the technology’s just not there yet,” Mr Kidd said.
“People can choose to drive an electric car to get around town, but you still can’t drive from Dubbo to Broken Hill in one – the distances between charging stations are too great.
“We want people in rural, remote and regional communities to be involved in this discussion, not sidelined as a consequence of a narrow thinking.”
“Genuine engagement and consultation is critical here, because what works even in a large center like Orange doesn’t work further out at West Wyalong,” Mr Kidd said.
“Good intentions alone just won’t cut it, people are keen to do their bit in reducing pollution, but we need to be careful we don’t also reduce our ability to feed ourselves.”