Jan 8, 2021: Electric Vehicle Madness

‘Electric cars comprised 54% of all new vehicle sales in Norway for 2019.

This makes Norway the first country to have sold more electric cars than petrol, hybrid, and diesel engines in a year.

The Norwegian government plans to ban the sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2025, and is using tax breaks and financial incentives to encourage the purchasing of more sustainable vehicles.’

What these articles show is that the electric vehicle (EV) revolution is well underway and it looks like only a matter of time before EV’s completely replace ICE (Infernal Combustion Engine) vehicles in other parts of the world. To help speed the transition away from fossil fuels, countries like Norway (and even the USA) offer generous rebates and tax breaks for people who choose to buy an EV.

Fossil Fools. (Image Source – abc.net.au)

Here in the upside-down-country however, there are no such incentives, in fact (and this is why I titled this article EV Madness) two of our states have recently proposed ADDITIONAL taxes on EV users. Yes, you read that correctly… as reported in this article from Renew Economy, both Victoria and South Australia are planning to impose higher taxes on EV users because ‘EV’s don’t pay their fair share of fuel taxes’. Apparently New South Wales is looking to follow suit.

Is it just me or is this complete insanity?

Most other countries in the world are trying to encourage people to use less fossil fuels and to drive cars that are more efficient, quieter, easier to maintain and reduce costs for health care and climate disasters by not pumping harmful emissions into the air. At the same time, Australian states are actively DISCOURAGING the use of EVs and joining our Federal Government in desperately cleaving to the fossil fuel interests that have Australia’s politicians by the short and curlies. It seems that the coal, oil and gas industries have completely corrupted our political system.

Ironically, the transition away from fossil fuels is going to happen anyway and the fossil fools that are currently controlling things here will inevitably go the way of the dinosaurs and other critters that were unable to adapt to rapid changes in their environment.

NZ Mandates EV’s for All Government Departments

In stark contrast, according to this article from The Driven …

‘New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has mandated that all Government agencies must now only purchase electric vehicles (EVs) or hybrid vehicles as part of its new policy to become a carbon-neutral government by 2025.’