The South Australian Treasurer’s plan to import Victoria’s electric vehicle tax will cause the state to fall behind other jurisdictions with better EV policies, such as New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, The Australia Institute has said.

“The Treasurer may say he’s not in the business of importing taxes from Victoria, but that’s exactly what he’s doing on electric vehicles,” said Noah Schultz-Byard, SA Director at The Australia Institute.

“The Victorian EV Tax has been panned by global auto-manufacturers and industry experts as the world’s worst EV policy.

“The South Australian Government should do a U-Turn on this policy and pursue a far more balanced and measured approach, as the NSW Coalition Government have done.

“Victoria made themselves a laughing stock by introducing an EV Tax early and failing to adequately support consumers and the industry as they did so.

“South Australia should learn from Victoria’s folly, not repeat it.

“With the Federal Government abandoning the EV policy space it has been left up to the states to usher in the clean transport revolution. South Australia needs to get on with the job, not get in the way.”