Australia's peak motoring body says a new package of measures announced by the Victorian Government will make electric vehicles and other zero-emission vehicles more affordable for businesses and families.
However, the Australian Automobile Association says efforts by individual state governments to set vehicle sales and emissions targets are a major concern, and the direct result of ongoing failure of the Federal Government to deliver a coherent, coordinated, nationally consistent approach to vehicle emissions reduction.
AAA Managing Director, Michael Bradley, said: "The incentive package announced by the Victorian government, coupled with a new distance-based road-user charge for electric vehicles, is an important step as governments look to make reforms that ensure all drivers pay their fair share of road funding without deterring the uptake of zero-emissions vehicles.
"It makes sense that as vehicle technologies change, so too does government policy".
However, Mr Bradley said the AAA shared the concerns of vehicle manufacturers about individual state governments setting vehicles sale and emission targets.
"Drivers don't want a patchwork of different policies, that deliver different vehicles and differing car prices into different states.
"The AAA has long called for national, technology-agnostic, market-based policies that deliver Australians cleaner cars at the least cost to families and businesses."
Almost six years have passed since Malcolm Turnbull established the Federal Government's Ministerial Forum on Vehicle Emissions to develop a holistic approach to the inter-related issues of vehicle emissions, air pollution, and fuel quality.
Mr Bradley said: "The comprehensive failure of the Federal Government to meaningfully address these issues has already seen several state governments move to introduce uncoordinated road user charging regimes.
"The time has come for the Federal Government to deliver a comprehensive national policy, to avoid the many risks associated with an array of state-based vehicle sales and emissions targets.
