Page 3693 - Week 12 - Thursday, 25 November 2021
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As I have touched on, the ACT has been leading Australia in zero-emissions vehicle policy and incentives. In May this year, the government announced two years of free registration for newly registered new and used zero-emissions vehicles. In the 2021-22 budget, the government extended this for an additional two years, to 30 June 2024. This initiative will continue to support community uptake of zero-emissions vehicles and reduce emissions from transport in the ACT. There is no doubt that this policy is having an impact. We saw a significant increase in the number of zero-emissions vehicle registrations immediately after that policy was introduced in May this year.
As I have touched on, the government is also continuing to transition its own fleet of vehicles. We now have more than 170 zero-emissions vehicles in the ACT government fleet—and this is growing as we turn the fleet over—along with the charging infrastructure to support that.
We are continuing to make strong progress in implementing other recent government commitments to support zero-emissions vehicle uptake. I have spoken about the fleet advisory service. We are about to release the charging master plan, and we will soon get underway with the expression of interest and tendering process for 50 public charging stations. This work is all rolling out. It will help accelerate a process we have already started and help Canberrans get more involved in a transition to a zero-emissions vehicle fleet.
As we reach our milestones, we need to ensure that all parts of the community are helped to continue on this journey. As the effects of climate change are felt, we must ensure that we are supporting our community’s resilience to the effects of climate change. The government is continuing to deliver climate change adaptation commitments, including improved living infrastructure, climate data and risk-based assessments, and support for community action and awareness.
The budget commits $2.6 million to continue to support the delivery of our commitments under the Canberra living infrastructure plan: Cooling the city.
The government knows that it cannot support the community alone. It has committed $600,000 over four years to continue the Community Zero Emissions Grants program. Community organisations have an important role to play and are often uniquely placed to work with our community to take meaningful action. They can often do things and be creative in a way that is harder for government. That is why I was so keen to get this program started, and I am very pleased that we are continuing it. This funding will continue to support community-led projects that help us to transition to net zero emissions and that increase our community’s resilience to the impacts of climate change. The first round under this new phase of funding will open this financial year.
In the budget, the government also allocated the first $5 million of the $50 million vulnerable household energy support scheme. This scheme provides funding to support vulnerable households to upgrade the efficiency of their properties and invest in energy-saving, new energy technologies. This includes public housing, poorly
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