The Commonwealth government has opened the National Electric Vehicle Strategy discussion paper, and is seeking submissions. AEVA will be making a submission as a national body, but branches and individuals are are encouraged to make submissions too.

The consultation paper can be found here: https://consult.industry.gov.au/national-electric-vehicle-strategy

AEVA's main positions are:

1. Transport emissions reduction must be the primary goal. All strategies should be viewed through this lens as a priority.

2. Work colaboratively and in good faith with state and territory governments to ensure EV support packages and future road costing policies are aligned.

3. A national vehicle emissions standard of 95 g CO2/km should be set by the end of 2023. This will make the sale of more polluting vehicles very difficult, and motivate vehicle manufacturers to offer cleaner models in the Australian market. A cut-off date for the end of ICE vehicle sales should be set for the end of the decade.

4. Governments must continue to invest in fast charging infrastructure and related network upgrades, while slow-charging should be supported for workplaces to take advantage of cheap solar electricity. Service contracts with fast-charger hosts must observed to ensure very high reliability.

5. Decouple hydrogen refuelling stations from the charging infrastructure budget - the technology is not well developed, is expensive, inefficient and would not result in emissions reductions for almost a decade.

6. Reduce bureaucratic hurdles around the parallel importation of right-hand-drive EVs, as well as electric motorcycles and scooters. These are some of the most affordable and efficient electric passenger vehicles on the road, and should be encouraged.

7. Support Australian battery and EV manufacturing through cheap finance, construction support, and training programs for new energy industry jobs.

Other ideas and approaches are welcome, but these are the main priorities identified by AEVA over the past decade, and unsurprisingly, they remain today.