Queensland government dumps zero-emissions vehicle goal set by Labor, introduces new target

Australia Broadcast Center

a day ago

Queensland's LNP government is dumping a Labor-era mandate that required certain vehicles driven by public servants to transition to zero emission alternatives.
Public Works Minister Sam O'Connor will today unveil a new emissions reduction strategy for QFleet, which manages more than 11,000 vehicles for the government.
Under the former Labor administration, a target was introduced to transition all "eligible" passenger vehicles in the fleet to zero-emission vehicles (ZEV) by 2026.
This would have impacted around 3,600 vehicles in the fleet.
In the new strategy, the ZEV push will be scrapped and a new target will be introduced, aimed at lowering the entirety of QFleet's tailpipe emissions by 10 per cent by 2030.
The plan will allow for other vehicles beyond electric vehicles to be used, such as hybrids and plug-in hybrids.
Mr O'Connor said every government agency would be held accountable to reduce their emissions, rather than buying a particular type of car.
"We've laid out a genuine pathway to reduce tailpipe emissions and better support the hardworking public servants who rely on QFleet to get them to where they need to be."
The new strategy would see the fleet's tailpipe emissions lowered from 33.19 kilotonnes as of June 2024 to 29.86 kilotonnes by 2030.
Over the same period, the government wants to grow the fleet of vehicles by about 9 per cent.
The strategy notes the plan was put together in response to "significant" feedback from government agencies, particularly public servants in regional areas.
"The [emissions reduction] strategy will mean for the first time the progress of total fleet emissions reduction is being monitored rather than just the number of EVs introduced," it said.
"This expansion of scope will provide the government with a more accurate account of its progress towards net zero emission targets."
The Queensland government has a target for the state to reach net zero emissions by 2050.
The previous strategy rolled out by the former Labor government, which included the ZEV mandate, projected the fleet's emissions would drop to 26.7 kilotonnes by 2025-26.
It also argued a transition to electric vehicles would result in "significant savings" for taxpayers through running costs, such as fuel.
Another aim of the plan was to increase the availability of second-hand electric vehicles in the used car market.
The ZEV mandate meant that as a vehicle lease expired, a zero-emission vehicle had to be taken up as long as there was a ZEV alternative and sufficient charging infrastructure was available.
The government's new QFleet strategy points out the fleet already has more than 2,000 active EVs.
"Thoughtful vehicle selection" and "responsible driving behaviour" are among the measures it lists in its bid to cut vehicle emissions.