July 21, 2022
KENNEDY MP, Bob Katter, has labelled the ACT Government’s decision to ban all petrol cars from 2035 as ‘moronic’, arguing they are setting people up for ruin by imposing upon them a lifestyle that the masses cannot afford.
He said, “People advocating intermittent power and imposing cost structures when the cost of living just keeps climbing to points that no one will be able to meet, is simply moronic.
“The people heading up Canberra’s decisions must be feeling the effects of their legalised cannabis scheme – their brains have gone to pot.
“Spruiking the latest ideological fashion statement seems to be the only thing this mob are any good at.”
Mr Katter said that while a solid argument is made for an Australian-made electric vehicle industry, its thrust comes with the tens of thousands of government vehicles in metropolitan areas. The New South Wales Government owns or leases over 25,000 alone.
Despite this, Mr Katter said the Federal Government had a chance to switch to electric but opted for foreign-made BMW’s and Toyota hybrids opposed to EVs in 2020 when it upgraded its fleet of Comcars.
“We tried to convince the Government to switch to Australian manufactured Holdens to keep that industry going but they fast-tracked that industry to its death.
“We now, as part of our Sovereign Fuel Security and Emissions Reduction Bill, ask for all metropolitan-based government vehicles be Australian made, in majority-Australian-owned factories. Our electric buses are already being built in Australia so there is no reason we can’t do the same for government cars.
“But there is daylight between switching a government vehicle contract to an EV and forcing an unaffordable car onto the general public. Massive daylight, and the people should and will resist.”
Member for Hinchinbrook, Nick Dametto said the policy was just another Labor brain fart to appease the Greens movement in the Canberra bubble.
“Those loonies in Canberra must be off their heads if they’re thinking banning internal combustion engine vehicles is a good idea, I suggest those ACT bureaucrats come spend some time in the regions, ” Mr Dametto said.
“An electric vehicle of today’s standard may suffice running around the ACT, but the vastness of Australia will require the necessity of internal combustion engines for years to come. Unless we see significant advancements in electric vehicle towing capacity and range, after 2035 I don’t think many gray nomads from Canberra will be straying too far from the border, let alone towing a caravan around Australia.
“What we’re likely to see is a number of Canberra residents buying and registering their new cars outside of the ACT, this policy is lunacy and a missed opportunity.
“Labor is happy to grandstand and beat their chests by mandating the uptake of EV’s, but when it comes to their buddies in the Queensland Labor Government, they fail to mandate a minimum floor for ethanol in today’s fuel, denying Australia a whole new industry, while cutting emissions sensibly.”
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20220721 Fuel-car ban decision suggests ACT Govt high on ideology - or the other stuff MR