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01/02/2011 - COMMON SENSE PREVAILS
The Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association (AAAA) welcomes the announcement by Prime Minister Julia Gillard to scrap the ill-conceived $430 million Cleaner Car Rebate scheme as part of the Federal Government budget adjustments to fund flood damage reconstruction. AAAA Executive Director Stuart Charity said the Cleaner Car Rebate scheme was so poorly designed that it would have delivered no net benefit to the environment. "The Gillard scheme was loosely based on economic stimulus programs initiated in Europe and the USA to help recovery from the global financial crisis," Mr Charity said. "Research has shown that, while these 'cash for clunkers' programs do encourage people to buy new cars, the net effect on the environment is negligible when emissions produced in the manufacture of the new cars is included in the calculations. "As environmental, economic or social policy, this scheme had no redeeming features. It would have paid millions of Australian taxpayer dollars to overseas car makers, it was open to rorting, and it totally ignored other less costly and more effective solutions," he said. Consult with industry experts The AAAA and other key automotive industry bodies were not consulted prior to the launch of the Cleaner Car Rebate program. "As an association representing 1300 businesses in a sector that turns over $11 billion each year, we hope to be consulted prior to the launch of new automotive related initiatives in future," Mr Charity said. "There are simple, low cost policy options to achieve real emission reductions in Australia's in-service vehicle fleet. Many countries have achieved substantial reductions in vehicle emissions through regulations requiring vehicles to be regularly inspected for safety and emissions compliance. "A five minute check, using diagnostic equipment commonly available in many licensed motor repairers, can determine the emissions performance of a vehicle. If emissions testing was part of mandatory annual road worthy and safety checks, Australian families would be making a huge contribution to emissions reductions - and they would be safer on the road," Mr Charity said.
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