PRIVATE MEMBERS' BUSINESS
Ms ALDRED (Monash—Opposition Whip) (16:50): This motion does indeed celebrate record electric vehicle sales, and the numbers are certainly striking. In August, Australians bought 27,078 battery electric vehicles—almost a quarter of all new cars sold. And, this week, we've learned of a new proposal to tax all Australians who drive combustion engines, to fund new kerbside charging stations, which will add to costs and inflation.
While the government has its foot down on electric vehicles, it has left national security and consumer protections in the garage. Let's be honest about why the government is not on track to meet its own climate targets. Electric vehicles represent close to 10 per cent of the emissions reduction it needs, so it is chasing them relentlessly.
The Climate Change Authority says meeting the 2035 target would require half of all new light vehicles sold to be electric. And who is footing the bill? The tradies and farmers in my electorate of Monash who rely on a diesel ute to get to the paddock or the factory are subsidising millionaires who can afford to buy their own electric vehicles and should be paying for them.
The cheapest electric vehicles on the market are Chinese made, and that is why they are selling so quickly. In August, every one of the eight best-selling electric vehicles in this country sold was built in China, and Huawei supplies the computer systems in most of these vehicles. That is where the government's climate ambitions are colliding with our own national interest.
Connected vehicles—that means new, late-model combustion vehicles as well—are linked to the internet through embedded SIM cards or Bluetooth. In effect, they're rolling data centres or computers on wheels. Australia now trails the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand in mitigating these risks.
Our Five Eyes partners are moving to keep high-risk software out of their vehicles. In the United States, it was former president Joe Biden who introduced the first ban on Chinese and Russian hardware and software in connected vehicles, with the rules taking effect from 2027. So I think it's fair to say former president Biden is still more up to date on national security and technology than our current prime minister, Mr Albanese.
This country rightly kept high-risk vendors out of our 5G network, yet the same technology we bipartisanly judged too dangerous for our mobile towers is now parked in Australian driveways. The Australian Strategic Policy Institute has called our approach a game of whack-a-mole. The risks are not only strategic.
Modern vehicles collect enormous amounts of personal data—voice recordings, location, geolocation tracking, how we drive—and the CSIRO research done recently on this has warned of serious privacy risks and the potential for remote exploitation. Overseas, one manufacturer sold drivers' data to insurers without those drivers' knowledge or consent. Our own Information Commissioner is now examining whether manufacturers ever obtained proper consent to use everyday Australians' data in this way.
ASIO has reportedly advised members of parliament not to drive Chinese made cars, yet there are a number of ministers who ignore this advice. There's a human cost as well that I want to touch on. The Privacy Commissioner has warned that perpetrators of family violence are using manufacturer apps to track victims' locations, unlock their cars remotely or interfere with the alarms and climate controls.
The New York Times has done extensive work on this issue. There have been some Australian articles as well. This is a very serious issue which this federal government is not treating with significant concern.
In many vehicles, there's no simple way to cut off that access. There's no privacy by design. If someone needs to leave quickly, that can be the difference between being safe and being trapped.
Meanwhile, the department of infrastructure told Senate estimates last year that consultation with industry on a national framework for automated driving was imminent. Industry is still waiting, and I want to call out the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government for her lack of interest and lack of action on this. Our partners across the globe have moved.
The United States has had data protections in law since 2024. The United Kingdom has legislated vehicle cybersecurity requirements. Where Washington and London can demand a full audit of the code running in any vehicles, Australians are left exposed and underprepared, and I condemn this federal government for its lack of action.