The Australian Labor Party (ALP) has announced a new ‘Driving The Nation’ (https://www.alp.org.au/policies/driving-the-nation) policy that will challenge the current government’s newly released 2022-23 budget. The main point that is being challenged is the six month 50% reduction in fuel excise.
Although the budget was released with good intentions to reduce the impact of international conflicts, Covid-19 and sharp increases in living costs; doubts have been raised surrounding the budget’s long-term significance, of which the ALP have decided to address with their new policy.
ALP’s Driving the Nation policy centralises around three key points:
- Creating a national fund for the logistics industry.
- Building an Australian electric vehicle (EV) charging network.
- Investing in hydrogen highways for heavy transportation vehicles.
The party advocates that the previous government led by Scott Morrison was taking a temporary approach to a potentially long-term issue and that further changes are required to support families and businesses. The policy speaks directly to everyday Australians who are constantly reminded of the rising global prices of oil, from both a residential and business perspective.
The goal of the policy is to reduce costs, emissions and the reliance on imported oil from overseas. This forward-thinking approach will mean that Australia’s transportation costs will no longer be significantly affected by external threats on the price of fuel, such as the Ukraine-Russia war. The party also intends to make the barrier-to-entry into the EV market much easier by investing in more EV charging ports, allowing more Australians to charge their vehicles all across the country.
So what key outcomes are being proposed by the new policy?
Driving The Nation Fund
The Driving The Nation fund is a $500 million investment. This investment will be distributed across both the EV charging network and hydrogen highways.
Australian National EV Charging Network
The ALP will establish 117 fast charging stations on highways across Australia, meaning that the majority of people can top up their EVs at charging stations with an average distance of 150km between stops.
Hydrogen Highways
To reduce the carbon emissions of heavy transportation, the ALP intends to deliver 16 hydrogen refuelling stations on the busiest freight routes to encourage use of hydrogen in commercial vehicles.
As we look to the future, it’s important for Australians to support the transition to more sustainable and self reliant means of keeping our transportation industry running. Join our Facebook group for Aussie Car Carriers and be a part of the discussion: https://www.facebook.com/groups/195232977840419
