“The time for talking is over and it is time for some action,” he said at recent gathering of 30 or so motoring writers at a BMW event.
“We need to break Australia’s embarrassing silence on environmental topics and start doing something. It is clear from a global perspective that alternative fuel technology with lower emissions is the way of the future.
“Billions of dollars have been invested, and are still being invested, to bring this technology to the general public. Across the world you can see the change in consumer behaviour working towards a cleaner future.
“It is not just BMW that is saying this. The vast majority of automotive brands are engaged in this pursuit and it is time for the Australian government to act. No more discussions, no more discussions.
“I call on Mr Malcolm Turnbull and the federal government to finally action a robust policy to support the introduction of low emission vehicles to the Australian market.
“We all know how it could be done, we all know that it is possible and that the time has certainly come.
“It can really work, so speaking about the right levers; it can be dollar incentives which, for example, seem to work in Norway, but also even in Germany where the German government has decided a couple of months ago together with the automotive industry to provide a Euro incentive for the purchase of a low-emission vehicle.
“Since that has been introduced sales of that technology has gone through the roof, and that is exactly what we would like to see here as well.
“It is not only about dollar incentives for the customers when it comes to the vehicle purchase. It also needs to go hand-in-hand with the necessary infrastructure, and that is certainly something where Australia certainly has a challenge on its own I would say, given the big spread between cities.
“But it is possible, and we currently see that in New Zealand, for example. I don’t want to compare Australia to New Zealand but New Zealand at the moment is definitely the front-runner as far as the rollout of this infrastructure is concerned. But we can certainly learn from that, we can learn from our neighbour and I believe that the Australians can definitely do it better.
“Last but not least, it is not only the government that needs to provide the necessary incentives and provide the necessary infrastructure, it is also the OEMs who are working hand-in-hand, because we can’t do it alone.
“My colleagues from the other OEMs, we all have the same mission and the vision, that we want to launch not only the strategy but we are joining forces in order to accelerate the rollout and the introduction of this technology here in Australia.”
Mr Werner also used the event to hit out at the government’s luxury car tax and reiterated his call for it to be abolished.
“That brings me to the question of whether we need to continue having a luxury car tax. To be honest, due to the cessation of the local production here in Australia I do not see any reason why we should maintain the current luxury car tax, not the way it is in place now. It would certainly be a lever, or a good opportunity, to modify the current tax regime, and maybe put something more intelligent in place.”
On the subject of money, GoAutoNews Premium asked Mr Werner if he could cost his proposals, specifically how much he wants the government to spend and how much BMW and the other manufacturers he mentioned would be willing to tip in.
“No, I don’t want to talk about numbers at this point in time,” he said, “I rather want to start having a round table discussion and see some action, not only talk but definitely action in order to pursue this way forward.”
To paraphrase an old engine builder’s saying, “action costs money son, how much do you want done”?
The political and policy conversation in Canberra won’t get far without a clear understanding of how big the bill is and who’s paying.
Daniel Cotterill is a former federal ministerial chief of staff.
By Daniel Cotterill
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