PRIVATE MEMBERS' BUSINESS

Ms CLUTTERHAM (Sturt) (16:55): I'm not a car person. I bought my current car in 2016 because it was blue, because it had a good air conditioner and because, when the car I was borrowing before I purchased my current vehicle broke down, I asked the mechanic what car he would buy his wife on the basis of safety. That's how I made my decision.

I still love driving this car, but it's starting to slow down. The radio doesn't work, the front passenger door doesn't open from the outside and there is something going on in the engine, given the frequency with which I must top up the oil. So my car is on its last legs.

But, unlike last time, I've already decided what type of car I will buy next, and that is an electric vehicle, an EV, because like thousands of Australians I recognise that there is a cleaner option that is also cheaper to run. The Electric Vehicle Council report State of electric vehicles 2026 was released on 30 September 2026, and it noted that an EV is bought in Australia, on average, every 100 seconds.

Put another way, Australia's EV transition shows 157,957 EVs were sold in the first six months of 2026 alone. There is now also more choice for the consumer, with model availability being expanded to 196 total EV models this year, up from 153 models last year. Importantly, there's also been an expansion of charging infrastructure in this country, with Australia's public charging footprint expanded to 4,268 public charging locations, which is an increase of 235 per cent from June 2025, and 11,602 public connectors, an increase of 175 per cent from June 2025.

What this all means is that the three key objectives of the National Electric Vehicle Strategy are on track. These objectives are to increase the supply of affordable and accessible EVs; to establish the resources, systems and infrastructure to enable rapid EV uptake; and to encourage increased EV demand. Reducing emissions within the transport industry is a critical part of Australia's journey to net zero.

Globally, transport consistently makes up nearly a quarter of total emissions and has the highest reliance on fossil fuels of any sector. Road transport contributes around 75 per cent of that share, and so, clearly, decarbonising our transport system will help reverse this trend. Secondary emissions from charging an EV from the electricity grid are already lower than emissions from equivalent vehicles powered by internal combustion engines and will reduce further as our electricity grid decarbonises.

We are aiming by 2030 to generate 82 per cent of Australia's electricity from renewables. My home state of South Australia is already there, and evolving technology, lower operating costs and energy flexibility will help us push this further. For households, EVs offer substantially lower operating costs, and they reduce exposure to increasingly volatile global fuel prices, noting that there is no sign that these will abate or stabilise in the near to medium term.

The National Electric Vehicle Strategy also notes that, on average, a petrol car consumes around 10 litres per 100 kilometres and costs $2,400 to fuel each year. The average EV, in stark contrast, consumes around $400 of electricity each year. EVs can turn electricity into drive-train energy very efficiently, converting over 77 per cent of the electrical energy from the grid to power at the wheels.

They also use regenerative braking, which lowers energy costs. The environmental case for EVs is clear, but so is the economic case, with the transition to EVs presenting a significant opportunity to develop new jobs and skills in Australia. Across the supply chain, from manufacturing through to maintenance, new skills will be needed to support the rollout of EVs.

We also have the mineral resources, capital and capability to maximise this opportunity. The International Energy Agency forecasts that demand for critical minerals to use in EVs and battery storage could grow at least 30 times by 2040, and this includes lithium, copper, nickel and magnesium. Already about half of all raw materials used in battery production are mined in Australia, meaning globally significant deposits of vanadium, cobalt, lithium and other essential minerals.

Australia has the opportunity to make the EV batteries used domestically and create jobs by exporting them to the world, resulting in an annual contribution worth billions of dollars to our economy.