Sam Hibbins to ask the Minister for Climate Action —
(164) My constituency question is for the Minister for Climate Action. There is a desperate need for EV charging in the Prahran electorate. There is just one station in a public car park. There are none that are being funded through the government’s existing programs. With emissions from transport being the biggest growing source of carbon emissions in Victoria and skyrocketing costs of petrol adding to the cost of living, this lack of EV charging is a real barrier for the uptake of cleaner, cheaper forms of transport. Many people in Prahran live in apartments or houses without driveways and also rent, so there is a need for more public chargers and also kerbside charging in residential streets, shopping strips and of course chargers in existing apartment buildings. So I ask: will the government act to increase the number of EV chargers in the Prahran electorate?
Response from the Minister for Climate Action–
The Victorian Government has made an unprecedented investment to support Victorians to transition to zero emissions vehicles (ZEVs). In May 2021, the government released its ZEV Roadmap, which underpins our target for 50 per cent of new light vehicle sales to be ZEVs by 2030. The ZEV Roadmap also detailed a support package to remove barriers to the uptake of ZEV technology, including the $19.21 million Acceleration of Zero Emissions Vehicle Adoption (AZEVA) Program to accelerate the rollout of electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure across Victoria.
The first program launched under the AZEVA Program was the Destination Charging Across Victoria (DCAV) Program, which is providing $5 million in grants to establish a public EV fast charging network. All DCAV projects are currently in progress and there is a plan to install 141 EV fast charging stations in 116 high-use areas and tourist locations across Victoria by July 2023. This will make it easier for Victorians to charge their EVs when and where they need. In addition, the Victorian Government has previously provided approximately $3.6 million to roll out fast charging stations across regional Victoria and Melbourne.
Other public chargers are also being installed directly by some local councils,
EV charging network providers and using Australian Government funds.
The locations of these chargers have been considered during the site selection for Victorian Government programs to make sure that regardless of where you live in Victoria, you are no more than an hour away from an EV charger.
The Victorian Government has also supported national regulatory reforms to improve charging availability. For example, the Victorian Government successfully advocated for stronger charging provisions in apartments through the National Construction Code, which will ensure all car spaces in residential buildings are capable of EV charging.
The Victorian Government understands that access to both public and private EV charging infrastructure is important to enable the uptake of ZEVs in Victoria.
The Government will continue to investigate future options for charging infrastructure rollout and regulatory reforms to ensure that all Victorians are able to smoothly transition to driving a ZEV, including households that don’t have access to off-street parking.
