Electric Vehicles

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (14:28): Thank you—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! Conversations across the chamber are out of order. The Hon. Mr Ridgway has the call.

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY: Thank you, Mr President, I will try again. My question is to the Treasurer. Can the Treasurer please update the chamber on the progress that this government, and indeed the Victorian government, has made in introducing legislation for a road user charge for electric vehicles?

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (Treasurer) (14:28): The South Australian government through its officers has been involved for a number of months now in consultation with other jurisdictions, in particular the officers from the Victorian Labor government who have publicly indicated their intention to introduce legislation some time early this year in relation to the introduction of a road user charge.

As the New South Wales Treasurer has indicated, he, too, was exploring the introduction of legislation in that state allied with their 2021 budget potentially for a road user charge, so South Australian officers have been involved for some time in relation to discussions. As we have indicated, in our view it is preferable to have the greatest level of consistency, if possible, between the jurisdictions, in particular South Australia and Victoria, in relation to the essential elements of a road user charge.

At this stage the final details of the Victorian legislation have still not been resolved and the legislation has not been introduced. We had hoped that the legislation might have been introduced last month, but that hasn't eventuated. The South Australian government will continue to consult with officers in the Victorian and New South Wales jurisdictions, and we will await the public release of the details of the Victorian legislation when it is introduced into parliament in, we understand, the not too distant future.

As a result of that we have decided to extend our consultation period. The introduction of the proposed legislation will still continue for the imminent future—that is, in the period up to or including this year's budget—but for the scheduled introduction date, if it were to be approved by the parliament, instead of 1 July this year it will be extended to 1 July next year. This will allow more time and opportunity for consultation, and it will also allow the opportunity—

The Hon. I.K. Hunter interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Hunter, we missed you yesterday, but you are making too much noise.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: Not all of us missed him, Mr President, not all of us. As I said, it will allow more opportunity for consultation but also more opportunity to see the details of the Victorian legislation and potentially the New South Wales legislation so that we can ensure the greatest degree of consistency we can in relation to the introduction of a road user charge as an important reform in relation to both transparency and accountability of road funding.