The former Marshall Liberal government’s short-sighted Electric Vehicles tax is no more, after legislation to repeal it passed the Upper House late yesterday.

The Repeal Bill has now passed both Houses of parliament, doing away with this disincentive to choose the environmentally friendly option when purchasing a motor vehicle, and honouring a major election commitment by the Malinauskas Labor Government.

Steven Marshall’s former Treasurer Rob Lucas spruiked the Liberal levy as a substitute for federal fuel excise, but it was rather a stealth tax – with a hidden cost for the environment.

Repealing this tax provides certainty of cost for electric vehicle drivers, as well as supporting the uptake of electric vehicles by preserving the financial benefits for EV adopters considering the average annual savings on fuel and maintenance costs.

And the benefits of Labor’s commitment to repeal the Liberals’ tax are evident in new EV sales in South Australia in the month of January – with 242 electric vehicles sold, up from just 32 in the same month in 2022.

A survey undertaken by the Australia Institute in 2021 showed seven in 10 South Australians were less likely to purchase an electric vehicle if a new road user charge was to be introduced.

The Malinauskas Labor Government is keenly participating in the development of the Commonwealth Albanese Government’s National Electric Vehicle Strategy, as well as delivering state-based support for this rapidly evolving industry, including:

*     a recently announced subsidy to training providers of EV training programs,
*     EV registration subsidies,
*     investment into the rollout of charging infrastructure; and
*     funding smart charging trials to demonstrate how EV charging can be integrated into the grid to realise electricity cost savings for all South Australians.

Quotes

Attributable to Tom Koutsantonis

South Australians should be encouraged to make environmentally-responsible choices, not met with new barriers.

This backwards-thinking tax was another betrayal of the Liberals’ low-taxing rhetoric, as well as a betrayal of the pursuit of Clean Energy solutions.

South Australians want to see their State Government incentivising the take-up of electric vehicles, not slugging users with extra costs.

With the passage of this legislation through parliament, the Liberals’ EV Tax betrayal is over.