Media Statement - 15th March 2007
Federal Labor today announced a $500 million “Green Car Innovation Fund” designed to generate $2 billion in investment to secure jobs in the automotive industry and tackle climate change by manufacturing low emission vehicles in Australia.
Under the bold initiative, industry will be asked to match a $500 million government contribution on a one-to-three dollar basis.
The Green Car Innovation Fund is a long-term plan designed to secure jobs and protect the environment.
Australia simply can’t afford any more short-term fixes in its car industry.
A Rudd Labor Government will set up an industry taskforce to work in partnership to implement the plan.
The $500 million fund will flow over a five year period from 2011.
This is about creating a long-term plan for the future of the car industry.
It is time for new ideas and a new direction. For 11 years, the Howard Government has denied climate change.
We must act on climate change to secure jobs in the car industry.
It is also about creating Australian cars that are both energy efficient and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the transport sector.
The Green Car Innovation Fund will boost industry research on fuel efficiency and vehicle manufacture to:
- Slash our dangerous carbon emissions;
- Promote the development of low emission vehicles such as hybrid, flexible fuel and low emission diesel vehicles; and
- Ensure Australia plays a leading role in the global development of green car technology.
The Commonwealth’s investment in the Green Car Partnership will be conditional on the achievement of solid commercial and environmental outcomes. Commonwealth investment will be conditional on these targets being met.
Australians should have the opportunity to buy Australian-made green cars.
The Green Car Innovation Fund complements Federal Labor’s Green Car Challenge in March – where we pledged to purchase for the Commonwealth fleet value-for-money environmentally friendly vehicles, such as hybrid vehicles, if they were produced in Australia.
Road vehicles contribute 13 per cent of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions.
While standard Australian manufactured vehicles produce around 250 grams of carbon dioxide a kilometre, low emission vehicles produced overseas generate half that.
Australia currently does not produce hybrid, flexible fuel or low emission diesel vehicles. However, imports of such cars are increasing, with sales of hybrid vehicle imports, for example, doubling to 3,200 in 2006.
Australians are demanding greater fuel efficiency in their cars and this partnership with the car industry means that we can, through research and technology, meet these demands.
The automotive industry has been a driving force in cutting edge research and development and innovation since the first Holden rolled off the production line in 1948.
The automotive sector plays an important role in the national economy.
It is central to our exports and to the economies of Victoria and South Australia.
New investment is now required to assist the auto industry to maintain its cutting-edge role, and reduce carbon emissions at the same time.
The Green Car Innovation Fund is another chapter in Federal Labor’s comprehensive approach to dealing with climate change, which includes:
- Ratifying the Kyoto Protocol;
- Cutting Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions by 60 per cent by 2050;
- Setting up a national emission trading scheme;
- Setting up the $500 million national clean coal fund;
- Substantially increasing the mandatory renewable energy target; and
- Convening a National Climate Change Summit.
NOTE: The New Directions paper is available under 'downloads' on this page.