The 2019 Budget remains incredibly weak on energy and environment policy and how Australia will adapt to, and take advantage of, the global transition to a low-carbon economy.
This issue continues to be ignored, as it largely has for the past 10 years of policy stagnation, and Australia continues miss out on maximising the potential investment, new job creation and economic benefits offered by the decreasing price of renewables and growth of new industries such as smart networks, electric vehicles, energy storage, and hydrogen for domestic use and export markets.
Australia has the technical capacity, natural advantages and successful energy industry to be a world leader in this transition but is in danger of ignoring the opportunity in front of it and so missing out on the growth industries of the next 20 years.
We can clearly see the focus that key trading partners such as Japan and Korea are putting on areas such as hydrogen for transport, power and heat.
We can wait to fall behind, or the Government can start putting in place the policies that will lead to investment in infrastructure to encourage early adoption of new technologies (such as electric charging networks and hydrogen re-fuelling facilities), encourage the uptake of electric vehicles by fleets and private users, and encourage Australian business to develop new opportunities in these emerging supply chains, while building a more resilient and effective domestic power system.
Australia is alone among developed countries in not having an emissions standard for vehicles and lags the world in encouraging uptake of light and heavy electric vehicles.
The recent policy announcement by Australian Labor Party on emissions standards, electric vehicles and support for the hydrogen industry starts to fills this gap, similarly the States are actively pursuing opportunities in their various jurisdictions.
We would encourage the Coalition to adopt similar positions to ensure we are not left with an aging fleet and lacking the infrastructure and capabilities required to take advantage of the increased availability and lower prices these vehicles will offer over the next decade.
We will watch with interest what, if any, changes come following a Federal election.THAT IS ALL GEOFF HAVE TO DO, WATCH WITH INTEREST AND DO NOTHING,...
