2023-09-27
The Victorian Greens have said a damning report into Victorian Labor’s EV tax has made clear the policy was a terrible idea from the start and has become a dog’s breakfast since.
The Victorian Ombudsman report, which was released today, revealed the rollout of the tax had been a mess.
Under the tax, Victorians have reportedly been getting unfairly penalised and even double-charged for driving plug-in hybrids, while coming up against a heavy-handed and unhelpful Department.
Greens climate spokesperson Ellen Sandell, said the tax had clearly been a disaster from the start and that Labor needed to go back to the drawing board and implement policies that would actually encourage EV uptake.
She added that at a time when countries around the world were making EVs more affordable to drive down greenhouse gas emissions, our government wanted to make them even more expensive.
With transport being the fastest growing source of emissions in Victoria, taxes like these are negligent in the midst of a climate emergency and will see Victoria continue to be world laggard in clean energy vehicle uptake.
Transport is Victoria’s second highest source of emissions, and they continue to go up, not down. To meet its own net-zero emissions targets, it’s time this government starts to take emissions from transport seriously and develop a proper transition plan.
Quotes attributable to Deputy Leader of the Victorian Greens, Ellen Sandell MP:
“This report makes clear that Labor’s tax on people who drive electric cars has been a dog’s breakfast from the start, with this report showing people have been double-charged, overcharged, and the implementation has been a shambles.
“Labor in Victoria is the only government in the world making electric vehicles more expensive, which is just ridiculous when transport is our fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions.
“We should be helping people make the switch to electric cars by making them more affordable, instead of making them more expensive.”