Australian Greens'­ Dissenting Report

1.1        The Australian Greens wholeheartedly support the Motor Vehicle Standards (Cheaper Transport) Bill 2014 introduced by former Australian Greens leader, Christine Milne.

1.2        Brand new Australian cars guzzle more petrol than new vehicles sold in China, India, Europe and Japan. Under this Bill, Australians will be able to take back control of rising petrol prices and reduce our reliance on imported oil as the fuel efficiency of Australia's cars improves by over 50% within 10 years.

1.3        This Bill would align Australia's fleet with the existing EU 2020 standards to achieve 95 grams of CO₂ per kilometre for passenger vehicles by 2023—a three year delay. To put that into perspective our cars average 192 grams per kilometre, far higher than the global average.

1.4        Transport is Australia's second highest area of pollution after electricity at 17 per cent.[1] Just like their approach to other areas of the Australian economy, the government has no effective or comprehensive policy in place to reduce pollution in the transport sector.

1.5        The CSIRO have identified that the most promising area for reducing pollution in the transport sector is light vehicles.[2] Ten per cent of Australia's total emissions come from light vehicle transport sources targeted by this Bill.[3]

1.6        What makes ignoring this area of policy particularly egregious is that two respected independent bodies—the Climate Change Authority and ClimateWorks— have found that minimum standards for vehicle transport are one of the lowest-cost ways to reduce Australia's climate pollution.[4]

1.7        Minimum standards for vehicle fuel efficiency would deliver a least-cost model of pollution reduction that will deliver net benefits to the Australian economy with a low regulatory burden.[5]

A unique opportunity for action

1.8        The proposal to introduce vehicle fuel efficiency standards has broad support from experts, and from the three major parties—the Government, Opposition and the Greens.

1.9        The Clean Energy Regulator and Climate Change Authority gave in-principle support to this Bill. The Climate Change Authority described mandatory vehicle fuel efficiency standards as 'a feasible and desirable addition to Australia's climate policy toolbox'.[6]

1.10      All three major parties now support action on this issue. The Government in its Energy White Paper stated vehicles will form part of the National Energy Productivity plan.[7] A Ministerial Forum has recently been appointed to oversee this work,[8] but the government has made clear that they won't be implementing any concrete measures until a 'draft implementation plan' is delivered to the government by 31 March 2017.

1.11      The Ministerial Forum puts off even the possibility of implementing any standards until after March 2017. This is an unreasonable and unjustified delay. It is very difficult to avoid the impression that the Government is simply trying to avoid action at an cost.

1.12      The Opposition has also indicated support for vehicle efficiency standards.

1.13      The Australian Greens are deeply disappointed in the Government's lack of urgency. Vehicle efficiency standards represent a unique confluence of cross-party support for a pollution reduction policy mechanism that should be adopted as a matter of priority so as to give certainty to consumers, car importers and Australian industry.

Australia is a potential dumping ground for dirty vehicles

1.14      With three-quarters of the global market under some form of fuel standard, Australia—without any such standards—is in danger of becoming a prime dumping ground for the world's dirty vehicles, especially in the wake of the Volkswagen pollution scandal.

1.15      Mr Frank Muller, Australia's former national transport commissioner, has told the ABC's 7.30 program that:

Australia is an international laggard on motor vehicle emissions. We are about three years behind Europeans in regulating the sorts of emissions involved in this case, nitrogen oxides from cars, and other air pollution.[9]

1.16      Consumer group CHOICE has stated in its submission that:

CHOICE strongly supports the intent of the Bill, to introduce a mandatory minimum standard for vehicle fuel efficiency in the Australian market. We note that Australia is the only advanced economy without mandatory standards for vehicle fuel efficiency or greenhouse emissions. The result is undoubtedly higher fuel costs for Australian consumers, and a risk that our market becomes a dumping ground for inefficient, costly-to-run vehicles.[10]

1.17      Australian consumers are not protected by any rules against fuel-guzzling vehicles, so given the danger of becoming the world's reject car junkyard, the government's inaction on this issue is even more disappointing.

1.18      The Australian Greens are disappointed that Government and Opposition members of this committee did not support holding any hearings as part of this inquiry. The Greens pushed to call Volkswagen to appear at any hearings, but did not receive the committee's support. We believe that Volkswagen must explain its intentions for its millions of dirty vehicles worldwide.

Consumers will suffer if standards are not implemented

1.19      By recommending this bill does not pass, the Government and Opposition are insisting on higher petrol costs for Australian motorists. As the Climate Change Authority has noted:

The benefits of a light vehicle emissions standard substantially outweigh the costs at both private and national levels. A 105 g CO2/km target could increase the average cost of a new car in 2025 by about $1,500, but this would be more than offset by fuel savings of $830 in the first year and $8,500 over the life of the vehicle, leaving motorists better off.[11]

1.20      New cars bought in Australia guzzle more petrol than new vehicles sold in China, India, Europe and Japan.[12] Not only are Australians paying more in petrol costs than we should be, but we are polluting more than we should be too.[13]

1.21      Vehicle fuel efficiency standards will lower petrol costs for households and businesses, reduce pollution, and send a strong signal to our trading partners that we are seeking the highest quality and most efficient automotive products.

1.22      There is no compelling reason why vehicle standards should not be adopted immediately, which is why the Chair's report was unable to provide any reason to not support the legislation.

The zero-pollution future of vehicle transport

1.23      We must rapidly transition our transport systems away from fossil fuels and towards zero-pollution alternatives. The VW scandal may well be the beginning of an even more rapid transition away from petrol and diesel vehicles and towards electric vehicles or other alternatives such as hydrogen vehicles.

1.24      In the meantime, Australia has an opportunity to clean up our vehicle fleet, and mandatory vehicle fuel efficiency standards are a crucial first step.

Recommendation 1:

That the Senate pass the Motor Vehicle Standards (Cheaper Transport) Bill 2014.

Senator Larissa Waters
Senator for Queensland

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