Thursday, 4 August 2022

Constituency questions

Western Victoria Region

Mr MEDDICK (Western Victoria) (12:42): (1888) My question is for the Minister for Roads and Road Safety. One of my constituents is an elderly pensioner who requires extensive trips to health providers. He contacted me because of the Victorian electric vehicle tax he must pay alongside the national fuel excise. Most city EV owners travel around 13 000 kilometres each year. However, many of my constituents live remotely and can travel over 70 000 kilometres per year to access health services. The per-kilometre EV road charge unfairly and disproportionally impacts regional Victorians who rely on their cars to access critical services. One idea my constituent offered is to amend the EV tax by setting a nominal limit, rather than a per-kilometre charge, for people who live remotely. Such an amendment would go a long way to incentivising people in western Victoria to take up electric vehicles. Will the minister make appropriate legislative changes to ensure that the EV tax does not adversely impact western Victorians who own EVs and/or hybrid vehicles?