NSW Farmers has warned the federal government against hiking costs to operate trucks and tractors in the proposed Fuel Efficiency Standard.
On Wednesday Energy Minister Chris Bowen and Transport Minister Catherine King announced a Fuel Efficiency Standard would be introduced as part of Australia's first National Electric Vehicle Strategy, aimed at driving cleaner, cheaper to run vehicles. In a media statement, the ministers said the absence of a standard has meant Australians households and businesses are missing out on more efficient vehicles, which could save motorists $519 per year in fuel costs.
Farmers were fearful, however, that the fuel standards could make it more expensive to run the diesel vehicles that form the backbone of Australia's farm sector and transport fleet, in turn increasing the cost of food and goods for consumers.
NSW Farmers Energy Transition Working Group chair Reg Kidd said there were no commercial alternatives to diesel-powered trucks and tractors, and Australia's large size meant electric vehicles were still not an option to keep the country running.
"There's a lot of promise in these new electric vehicles, but the farm and transport sectors are a long way from broad-scale adoption, the technology's just not there yet," Mr Kidd said.
"People can choose to drive an electric car to get around town, but you still can't drive from Dubbo to Broken Hill in one - the distances between charging stations are too great.
"We want people in rural, remote and regional communities to be involved in this discussion, not sidelined as a consequence of a narrow thinking."
Mr Kidd said the next two months would be incredibly busy for many farmers with sowing and harvest efforts underway across much of the state, and the government would need to take this into consideration given the submission deadline for the new fuel standards was May 31.
"Genuine engagement and consultation is critical here, because what works even in a large centre like Orange doesn't work further out at West Wyalong," Mr Kidd said.
"Farmers cannot choose not to use diesel to produce our food or get it from farm gate to dinner plate, and with everyone feeling the pinch at the moment, the last thing we need are policies that will drive up the cost of production and leave everyone worse off.
"Good intentions alone just won't cut it, people are keen to do their bit in reducing pollution, but we need to be careful we don't also reduce our ability to feed ourselves."
Incentivising the renewal of the transport and agricultural fleets with more efficient vehicles would be a better policy going forward, Mr Kidd said, and he urged the government to consider options such as a targeted extension of the instant asset write off to help farmers find practical, affordable ways forward.
