Greens announce plan for five years free rego for electric cars

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Marc Talloen visits Windy Hill wind farm to recharge his Tesla S85. Photo: Brigitte Daley

ELECTRIC cars would be given free registration for five years under a $14 million plan announced by Greens Leader Richard Di Natale.

However, he was unable to say how many cars that would cover or if the $14 million was for the full five years.

"I'll need to get back to you on the total numbers of vehicles," he told the Sunday Mail when queried while announcing the policy in Adelaide.

"I'd need to get back to you on the time frame."

He said the $14 million figure came from the Parliamentary Budget Office, and his colleague, South Australian Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, predicted it would put an extra 2500 electric cars on SA roads.

The free registration plan, which would also cover compulsory third-party insurance, would require agreement from state governments that administer car registration schemes.

Marc Talloen visits Windy Hill wind farm to recharge his Tesla S85. Photo: Brigitte DaleySource:News Corp Australia

The Greens policy also calls for massive investment in charging stations in places such as carparks, which they say is pivotal to boosting sales.

They said this would also ensure a large portion of government vehicle fleets were electric.

Dr Di Natale said the environmentally friendly cars had the potential to create jobs in the component industry and might lead to electric cars being manufactured in Australia — all such cars now are imports.

"Five years' free rego for car owners would drive economies of scale," he said.

"It will mean a shift to a low-pollution, low-carbon future. People with solar panels on their roof can charge their car overnight and have free fuel. This is a jobs-rich opportunity."

The policy would not apply to hybrid vehicles. In 2015, of the 1,155,408 new vehicles sold in Australia, 1108 were electric, the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries' VFacts report says.

SA Greens Senator Robert Simms had a Bill before parliament to encourage electric-car manufacturing in SA by broadening eligibility for Canberra's Automotive Transformation Scheme.

The Greens also supported the push for a huge solar thermal plant at Port Augusta.

Source: Greens announce plan for five years free rego for electric cars