Labor’s new family car tax has been announced under the guise of fuel efficiency standards. When Labor first mooted fuel efficiency standards last year, I said the coalition would be constructive if Labor could balance prices, choice and emissions, but Labor has failed on all counts. None of Australia’s top three favourite vehicles meet Labor’s future standards —not the Ford Ranger, not the Toyota HiLux and not the Isuzu D-MAX—yet the Minister for Climate Change and Energy excitedly claims the prices are coming down. The minister is the dodgiest car salesman this country has ever seen. The industry say prices are only going to go up. They’re expecting $38 billion in extra costs, which of course will be passed on to consumers, putting their favourite vehicles beyond the reach of Middle Australia.
Meanwhile, the minister declares: ‘That’s not all. I’m going to make electricity so cheap that if everyone buys EVs they’re going to save on fuel.’ But he’s assuming that the price for electricity goes no higher than 27c a kilowatt hour. It’s currently 33c and going up. This is the same dodgy minister who promised a $275 reduction in household power bills.
