Electric vehicles
Mr McCURDY (Ovens Valley) (17:17): (6208) My adjournment matter is for the Treasurer, and the action that I seek is that the Victorian government immediately remove the road tax for driving electric vehicles in Victoria. Victoria appears to be the only jurisdiction in the world to tax electric vehicles, and the government for Melbourne prattles on about renewable energy and encouraging Victorians to produce and use renewable energy all the while actively discouraging the use and purchase of electric vehicles. I recently met with a Wangaratta couple who purchased a Tesla, and they are extremely happy with that purchase. They are proud that they are doing their bit within the clean and environmentally friendly world. They normally, where possible, charge their electric vehicle from solar, and therefore there is very little non-renewable power needed. Only occasionally do they need to top up with grid power. The Victorian government has introduced a tax that is a deterrent for those considering an electric vehicle, and on top of that there is the road user tax.
The Wangaratta people in question are heading to South Australia, and for their entire trip they will be paying the per-kilometre tax back to the Victorian government even though they are using the South Australia roads for most of the trip. It is extremely unfair and goes against all the market signals to encourage renewable energy. The tax should be removed immediately to encourage greater uptake in this industry. Another greedy tax by this government is beyond belief.