Minister opens charger; Greens call for action

Transport and Energy Minister and Tauranga MP Simon Bridges last Friday opened two new electric vehicle charging stations – this time at Tauranga’s Bayfair Shopping Centre.

As with recent openings, he was keen to reinforce his support for such infrastructure.

“As minister of both Transport and Energy & Resources, I’ve long been a proponent of electric vehicles so it’s great to see local businesses getting on board and providing this infrastructure free to the Tauranga community,” Bridges says.

“While most charging will likely take place at the home or workplace, a network of charging infrastructure is necessary to support the increased uptake of electric vehicles,” Bridges notes.

But he is yet to offer government support for EVs, as predicted by many in the industry last year.

The Greens have again come out calling for the minister to take action.

“At this rate, there’ll soon be more photos of Simon Bridges opening charging stations than electric vehicles on our roads,” says Green Party Transport spokesperson Julie Anne Genter.

“Simon Bridges promised a policy package to support electric vehicles at the end of last year, but he still hasn’t delivered,” Genter notes.

“There are many real actions the National Government could be taking to support the uptake of electric vehicles in New Zealand,” Genter claims. “It really shouldn’t take a year and a half to come up with a policy package.”

The Greens say they would support the roll-out of a nationwide network of fast-charging stations and remove fringe benefit tax on electric vehicles for up to seven years.

“Tax breaks for businesses who choose electric cars provides a huge incentive to switch to clean electric vehicles by cutting the upfront cost of an electric car by up to 36%.”

“Our policy would dramatically increase the number of new electric cars in New Zealand, and pave the way for a large second-hand market for electric cars, putting clean cars within almost everyone’s reach in just a few years,” says Genter.