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Senate EV Inquiry Chair meets with industry ahead of hearings

Senator Storer's committee is gearing up for action, although its effectiveness remains to be seen.


The upcoming Senate Inquiry into electric vehicles will meet today meet with the Electric Vehicle Council in Melbourne, ahead of formal written submissions closing on July 27.

Led by South Australian Senator, Tim Storer, the inquiry will investigate the "economic, environmental and social benefits" of widespread electric vehicle adoption Down Under, using a Bloomberg report claiming 50 per cent of global new car sales will be electric as part of his inspiration.

It'll look into the potential for an EV manufacturing industry in Australia, with the senator pitching his home state as the perfect place to develop battery-powered cars. Today's meeting with the EV Council is aiming slightly lower, with talk about the rollout of electric infrastructure at its core.

“I welcomed the opportunity to be briefed by all the major players working to ensure Australian motorists do not pay the price for the slow response of the authorities to this once in a century transport challenge,” said Storer.

“Without urgent action, Australia stands to fall further behind the rest of the world, with consumers paying the penalty in higher life cycle costs, and industry missing out on opportunities to create the jobs of tomorrow.”

Along with the meeting, Sen. Storer was keen to highlight UK Government plans to see between 50 and 70 per cent of new car sales become 'ultra-low emissions' by 2030. Just remember, this is a conservative government we're talking about.

The plan, which has been laid out in the form of a 46-point plan, includes a push for charge points to be installed in newly-developed homes, a charge infrastructure investment fund, a programme to develop wireless and on-street charging and a taskforce to bring the tech, auto and government industries together on the issue.

“In many ways, Australia is better placed than the UK to reap the rewards of the transition to electric vehicles," Storer said of the UK's rollout.

"We have all the natural and human resources needed to build electric vehicles. We are already the world’s biggest lithium supplier, so we should be seriously considering how our industry can make further contributions throughout the EV value chain.”

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