Cheap rego for green cars
Registration for hybrid vehicles would be cheaper under a Labor governmentLeader of the federal opposition Kevin Rudd says that his party would set up a $500 million 'Green Car Innovation Fund' to boost Australian manufacturing of fuel-efficient and hybrid vehicles, should he win office this year.
The opposition leader also told talkback radio host John Laws that he was interested in the idea of talking to the states about reducing registration fees for hybrid cars -- such as Toyota's Prius (pictured).
Australia's Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) welcomed the announcement, saying the innovation fund would complement the industry's already "longstanding commitment to improving environmental outcomes and achieving reduced greenhouse gas emissions".
"We believe this is a constructive initiative which will encourage the Australian car industry to increase its future investment in the development and uptake of advanced new vehicle technologies, and help underpin enhanced environmental outcomes," said the FCAI's chief executive Peter Sturrock.
However Sturrock was quick to point out the plan was dependant on the ongoing support of the industry's green development. "This initiative builds on a strongly supportive package of existing policy arrangements," he said. "It also requires a very significant investment of $1.5 billion by Australian automotive manufacturers."
According to the FCAI, the automotive industry has already voluntarily set a target of reducing average CO2 emissions from new vehicles by 12 per cent between 2002 and 2010. The 2010 average emission target for new passengers cars, SUVs and light trucks is 222 grams of CO2 per kilometre.
Talking on Laws' Sydney radio program, the opposition leader said that he was inspired to formulate a plan for hybrid vehicle development when he and his wife tried shopping for an Australian-built green vehicle.
"We went through this with the family recently when my wife was looking for an Australian-made hybrid car and I'm sure some of your listeners would have found this out -- you can't find one," said Rudd.
"So, that started me thinking about why don't we have one in this country, given that so many people are now trying to do their bit personally to bring down greenhouse gas emissions."
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