❓ Mrs. Stojkovski asks about the government's plan to encourage electric vehicle uptake and its impact on achieving net zero emissions by 2050. The Minister outlines the $21 million investment in a statewide EV charging network to address range anxiety and promote EV adoption.
AnsweredQoN 421Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
ELECTRIC VEHICLES — CHARGING STATIONS
421. Mrs J.M.C. STOJKOVSKI to the Minister for Environment:
I refer to the McGowan Labor
government's commitment to reducing emissions as well as driving
economic growth through its $21 million electric vehicle fund.
(1) Can the minister update the house on how this
government is encouraging the uptake of electric vehicles in Western Australia
and, in particular, providing owners with the confidence that they can travel
throughout the state?
(2) Can the minister outline to the house what this
will mean for the state's efforts to transition to net zero carbon emissions by 2050?
421. Mrs J.M.C. STOJKOVSKI to the Minister for Environment:
I refer to the McGowan Labor
government's commitment to reducing emissions as well as driving
economic growth through its $21 million electric vehicle fund.
(1) Can the minister update the house on how this
government is encouraging the uptake of electric vehicles in Western Australia
and, in particular, providing owners with the confidence that they can travel
throughout the state?
(2) Can the minister outline to the house what this
will mean for the state's efforts to transition to net zero carbon emissions by 2050?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) I
thank the member for Kingsley for the question. I understand that this
announcement has proved very popular in the electorate of Kingsley, which I am
very pleased about. I was very excited to announce earlier today, with the
Minister for Energy, the road map for electric vehicle charging stations across
the entire state of Western Australia. This will be the longest EV network and
EV highway in the country. It is an important part of getting the state's
emissions down to net zero. We know that increased adoption of EVs is an
important part of reducing greenhouse gases and improving our urban air
quality. It will also improve energy productivity and reduce future transport
costs.
We
have been preparing the state for an increased uptake in EVs by implementing
this $21 million investment of EV network charging stations. There will be 45
locations from as far down south as Esperance, up through Kalgoorlie, around
the south west and up to Kununurra. There will be around 90 charging stations,
including fast-charging stations. We
intend to locate these charging stations close to amenities so that people can
stop, have a coffee and enjoy the regional towns. It should be a nice boost for
local towns in the regions.
We know that range anxiety is one of
the biggest barriers in Western Australia in particular, given the vastness of
the state. Quite reasonably for people in regional areas, at the moment it is
not a viable option for people to travel
long distances. We are helping to overcome that range anxiety with this
important early investment. The average distance between charging points
will be around 168 kilometres, and we know that
most EVs will do around 400 kilometres on one charge. Depending on the EV and
the size of the battery , people
should be able to charge their car within 15 to 30 minutes at each charging
station. We want to make this fast, accessible, reliable and
sustainable. This is the spine of the network; this is the beginning of our
network. We expect the private sector to step up and complement that spine. One
of the great benefits of having state-owned utilities—Synergy and
Horizon Power—is that we can ensure that this investment is early and
we can instigate that important uptake in EVs.
thank the member for Kingsley for the question. I understand that this
announcement has proved very popular in the electorate of Kingsley, which I am
very pleased about. I was very excited to announce earlier today, with the
Minister for Energy, the road map for electric vehicle charging stations across
the entire state of Western Australia. This will be the longest EV network and
EV highway in the country. It is an important part of getting the state's
emissions down to net zero. We know that increased adoption of EVs is an
important part of reducing greenhouse gases and improving our urban air
quality. It will also improve energy productivity and reduce future transport
costs.
We
have been preparing the state for an increased uptake in EVs by implementing
this $21 million investment of EV network charging stations. There will be 45
locations from as far down south as Esperance, up through Kalgoorlie, around
the south west and up to Kununurra. There will be around 90 charging stations,
including fast-charging stations. We
intend to locate these charging stations close to amenities so that people can
stop, have a coffee and enjoy the regional towns. It should be a nice boost for
local towns in the regions.
We know that range anxiety is one of
the biggest barriers in Western Australia in particular, given the vastness of
the state. Quite reasonably for people in regional areas, at the moment it is
not a viable option for people to travel
long distances. We are helping to overcome that range anxiety with this
important early investment. The average distance between charging points
will be around 168 kilometres, and we know that
most EVs will do around 400 kilometres on one charge. Depending on the EV and
the size of the battery , people
should be able to charge their car within 15 to 30 minutes at each charging
station. We want to make this fast, accessible, reliable and
sustainable. This is the spine of the network; this is the beginning of our
network. We expect the private sector to step up and complement that spine. One
of the great benefits of having state-owned utilities—Synergy and
Horizon Power—is that we can ensure that this investment is early and
we can instigate that important uptake in EVs.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.