Greens say Bracks Review a spanner in works of Luxury Car Tax

Greening Australia's car fleet to reduce emissions, and rebuilding our manufacturing sector, should be the focus of the Rudd Government's private vehicles policy, Australian Greens climate change spokesperson, Senator Christine Milne, said today.

The Greens welcome the Bracks Review's recommendations to bring forward and double the Green Car Fund and to include road transport in the emissions trading scheme. However, these policies must be complemented by mandatory vehicle fuel efficiency standards, to which any car industry subsidies, including the Global Automotive Transition Scheme, must be tied.

Senator Milne said, "One of the Rudd Government's pillars of climate policy is to assist the global effort to reduce emissions. How would that be helped by selling more polluting V8s to the Gulf States, ASEAN and South Africa?

"The Greens have long argued that Australian car manufacturing cannot be globally competitive if it continues to build large gas guzzlers when consumers worldwide are choosing smaller, fuel efficient vehicles in the face of peak oil and climate change.

"If the Government is serious about a whole-of-government approach to climate change and reducing emissions, they must consider the Bracks Car Review, the Henry Taxation Review and the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme together, instead of pretending that each of these issues can be dealt with in isolation.

"The Luxury Car Tax is scheduled to come before the Senate in only a few days, before the Government responds to the Bracks Review, before the Henry Taxation Review is even completed, and well before a national cap on emissions is set.

"If all these issues were considered together, the Government would realise that the better approach would be to tax cars based on their fuel efficiency and deal with equity issues through the income tax system and by providing mass transit options to those struggling with long commutes.

"One significant failure of the Bracks Review is to tinker with the Fringe Benefits Tax concession which encourages private car use, instead of scrapping it altogether.

"The Government must not forget that providing fast and convenient alternatives to private car travel is the main game in the face of peak oil and climate change. Helping Australians to drive less, but when they do drive, to drive more efficiently in an Australian-made car, should be where the Government is headed."

Tim Hollo
Media and Communications Adviser
Senator Christine Milne
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