Motorists enjoyed a smooth ride on budget night, but there are twists and turns on the road ahead.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers didn’t have any nasty surprises for drivers on Tuesday night.
We knew ahead of time that the government was scaling back incentives for electric cars by reducing the generosity of a tax discount credited with putting 100,000 electric vehicles on the road.
There was also a little bit of money for EV chargers, and to help for workshops to pay for gear needed to service electrified vehicles.
MORE: Government to reap billions from EV drivers
CHALMERS LETS IT GO THROUGH TO THE KEEPER
But there were bigger questions left unanswered.
One is the sort of revolutionary change that a government should take to an election.
It seems increasingly likely that the government will reboot the way transport infrastructure is paid for with a road user charge.
It might only apply to electric cars, or perhaps plug-in hybrids, in the way Australian states tried – and failed – to sting green vehicle owners with additional costs attached to their rego.
It might also apply to conventional combustion-powered cars, and replace the fuel excise that normally adds 52.6 cents in tax to every litre of fuel we buy.
In any case, it’s the sort of revolutionary policy – like the Goods and Services Tax – that should be brought to an election so that voters can have their say.
But Australians aren’t due to go to polling booths until 2028.
I reckon we’ll hear more about changes to road funding, fuel taxes and electric vehicles before then.
MORE: Aussies to be slugged for new EV charger network
Aussies have strong feelings about taxation and transport. Some of our recent stories have attracted thousands of comments, poll responses and views in the last week or so.
A reader poll asking “Should non-EV owners be expected to help fund national EV infrastructure?” Returned more than 50,000 responses, and 87 per cent of you said no.
One Facebook post linking to the story attracted more than 10,000 comments from people with passionate views on the subject.
An independent think tank’s proposal for a means-tested road user charge that would slug rich Aussies four times as much as battlers for every kilometre driven attracted a similarly passionate response.
No wonder the Treasurer swerved around the issue this time.
MORE: Aussies slam each other over proposed tax
MISSING PIECES IN THE PUZZLE
Another missing piece in the puzzle for this year’s budget surrounds revenue from fines attached to the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) that car makers are grappling with.
That’s the controversial policy that will make it really hard for companies like Ford to keep selling popular cars like the Mustang or Ranger Raptor in big numbers – and hard for diesel-driven companies like Isuzu to exist at all.
We couldn’t find projected revenue from NVES penalties in the budget papers and asked Treasury representatives for assistance.
Turns out it’s not in there, as the government expects car companies to do deals among themselves and buy emissions credits from greener companies that sell lots of EVs, as opposed to paying more expensive penalties.
Which will further supercharge the success of Tesla and BYD, but force companies like Mazda and Ford to hand over cash to rival brands.
While the government doesn’t expect to reap bulk cash from NVES penalties today, it may happen in years to come – particularly if there aren’t enough green credits to go around.
Another interesting point surrounds the future of ANCAP, Australia’s new vehicle crash testing laboratory.
MORE: Road tax proposal targets Aussies
While budgets forecast five years into the future, government backing for ANCAP is only locked in for the next three years.
We contacted a treasury official for clarification surrounding the funding, and were told that it is “up for discussion” in Canberra.
A spokesman for the crash testing body said this was business as usual.
“A five-year commitment from the Australian Government was secured in 2023, which will see Federal Government support of ANCAP through to 2027–28,” he said.
“ANCAP continues to work constructively with the Australian Government and all our members on ANCAP’s ongoing role in improving vehicle safety and delivering road safety benefits for Australian consumers.”
The safety body is in an interesting place, having introduced tough new regulations for 2026 that will make it harder than ever to reach a five-star result.
It has brands like Toyota scrambling to update the latest RAV4 to comply with rules that put a magnifying glass on controversial technology such as driver monitoring systems that have not been welcomed by motorists. A three or four-star score would be disastrous for Toyota, which is working overtime to ensure a maximum points result.
ANCAP plays an important role in consumer advocacy in a market flooded with new cars. You might not have heard of Firefly or Forthing, but they’re coming soon with new EVs from China, and motorists deserve to know whether they are a safe bet.
And whether they’ll have to pay extra at registration time for choosing an EV.
Because there really are big bumps on the road ahead.
