Sydney, Australia, is in the midst of a fuel crisis, but the way state and federal governments have chosen to respond demonstrates a deep commitment to fossil fuels.
Within days, Canberra had raised billions of dollars to lower the price of petrol and diesel. The cost of temporarily cutting fuel taxes in half for three months is about A$2.55 billion, which is just to alleviate the pain caused by oil prices, but it does not change Australia’s dependence on oil.
Add to that relief for heavy vehicles and loans to fuel-intensive businesses, and you have a crisis plan to keep the existing gas-guzzling system running. In this framework, fuel security means ensuring fuel safety, not ensuring mobility.
How states responded
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Public transport fares in Victoria and Tasmania can come with a brief break – a month of free or heavily discounted travel. There were no permanent increases in public transport services, nor were fare reforms lasting. There is also no new support for electric vehicles, accelerated installation of cycle lanes or bus priority lanes.
Outside those two states, transit riders get nothing. Queenslanders are still stuck with 50 cent fares – that’s a positive. There are no new incentives for EV drivers. People walking or biking remain overlooked in the oil crisis response.
In Western Australia, the proposed policy intervention is to spend millions of dollars to establish WA’s own petrol and diesel storage depots.
The message seems to be: If you are part of the fossil fuel system, the state will cushion you; if you are part of the fossil fuel system, the state will cushion you. If you want to live outside, you’re on your own.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. Think about it if we spent just a third of the excise tax cut – about $850 million over the same three-month period – and imagine what could be achieved if we made ending fuel use a goal.
this can be done
First, we could make all public transport nationwide free for three months and increase peak-hour frequency when the system is already at capacity. Free fares plus higher frequencies are not just a cost-of-living measure but a continent-wide habit-forming experiment. Giving millions of Australians an easy way to test life without a car commute, some of whom will never go back.
Secondly, we can target the heaviest fuel users with rapid electrification support, similar to what mining giant Fortescue has announced. The government only needs to invest a few hundred million dollars to provide tens of thousands of electric vehicle subsidies to high-mileage drivers. These include taxis, rideshares, fleet vehicles and regional commuters, which use more than 5-6 times the amount of gasoline or diesel per year than the average user. Combined with support for e-bikes and e-cargo bikes for households, couriers and local businesses, you can support short car journeys and local deliveries that no longer require fuel.
Third, we can fast track the infrastructure that makes these choices stick. A nationwide push for curbside and workplace charging would remove a major psychological and practical barrier to EV adoption.
At the same time, dedicated bus lanes and bus priority at intersections in key corridors can be quickly deployed, while tram avenues will take a little longer.
Fourth, we can begin the difficult transition to electric trucks, tractors and farm machinery, which is underway in China. Currently, 50% of new truck sales in China are electric trucks, and cheaper versions will be launched in global markets.
Finally, instead of spending $20 million on ads asking drivers to use less fuel, we could spend the same amount of money explaining how we can get through this crisis by using public transit, active transportation like walking and cycling, and electric vehicles. And, as mentioned above, we can fund these options.
It’s time to change the system
The point is not to pretend we can reinvent the transportation system in three months, but that we can start. The world has been surprised by how quickly solar energy, batteries, and now electric cars have spread. This is the fastest energy transition in history.
With the fiscal firepower that Canberra has discovered almost overnight to support the oil industry, we can begin to end our dependence on oil. Automated management system
This article was generated from automated news agency feeds without modifications to the text.
