So National wants to improve the country’s electric car recharging network.
This is a good idea and worthy of discussion. All strength to them.
But this announcement shows what a poor state our political system is in.
Because politics ought to involve a civilised discussion about which policy will deliver the greatest reduction in greenhouse gasses in the shortest possible time.
If we accept that we are facing a civilisation ending threat then we should be doing everything we can. Some policies will make significant contributions, some not so much. Depending on how desperate we get we may have to try as many of them as we can afford.
Labour’s clean car discount policy is in my view a very good spend of public resources. It has incentivised the purchase of electric and hybrid vehicles as well as publicised the benefit of going green.
National’s proposal could be helpful. Charging stations are still somewhat rare and more charging stations could increase the uptake of electric vehicles.
But Labour’s clean car discount has achieved a lot of good and denigrating and sacrificing one for another policy is not conducive to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
As I commented in May this year this release from Stats New Zealand highlights how well Labour’s scheme has worked:
The total value of passenger motor vehicles imported in the 12 months to March 2023 was $6.8 billion – an increase of 13 percent on the previous year. This represents the largest value of vehicles purchased within any 12 months to March.
Rises in imports were seen across vehicles of all reduced-emission propulsion methods, with electric vehicle imports having the highest increase of 127 percent, to $1.23 billion. Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and the less common plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) increased 79 percent (to $1.12 billion) and 123 percent (to $176 million), respectively.
The combination of all passenger internal combustion vehicles increased 1.7 percent, to $5.6 billion.
This graph shows what has been happening.
The scheme has been that successful that it is under fiscal pressure and rather than tip funds into the scheme the Government previously announced changes to the costs and subsidies payable under the scheme.
And the fleet continues to improve in its fuel efficiency. It has been estimated that in June this year one in every two cars was an electric.
National engaged into a really tacky culture war over the issue.
As Michael Wood said in response to a question from Simeon Brown:
I recognise that the National Party and the member opposite wish to turn every policy that is about addressing climate change into a tacky little culture war, but our Government is actually focused on practical measures that reduce emissions across our transport sector. Of course, what the member is trying to do here is present the Clean Car Discount as a policy that only applies to those purchasing a vehicle like a Tesla, and that is completely wrong. For example, the biggest make of vehicles that has attracted both the largest number of discounts and the highest total value of discounts have in fact been Toyotas. The two most commonly sold vehicles that have attracted a discount under the Clean Car Discount have been Toyota models that sell for under $20,000. Ours is a Government which is getting on with reducing transport sector emissions. We will keep doing that while the National Party continues to wallow in their lazy climate change denialism.
National’s full throated attack on the policy was dented somewhat after it was disclosed that National leader Christopher Luxon has bought a Tesla using the scheme and he also took steps to get a Crown supplied Tesla. You can obviously never have too many Teslas.
Work is already occurring in the area. In March Waka Kotahi released this discussion paper seeking responses to a proposal to put charging hubs in place every 150 – 200 kms on main highways by 2028.
Existing work is being funded from the climate budget, the one that National wishes to use to help pay for tax cuts for landlords.
The basic problem is that while the proposal is worthy of consideration National’s overall approach to climate change would destroy any chance we have of meeting our climate goals.
James Shaw sets out the hypocrisy of National’s position well.
So let us have a discussion about the best way to roll out charging stations. But this really feels like some greenwashing by National who has shown from its other actions that it is completely indifferent to meaningful action on climate change.
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