We recently asked you for your views on two very current and important transport issues.
Australian motorists currently pay 42.3 cents in fuel excise for every litre of petrol and diesel purchased. As technological shifts reduce the collection of fuel excise, Australia needs a new way of funding transport projects.
We want to know what you think about how electric vehicles and other alternative-fuelled vehicles could be brought into the tax system.
Q: Were you aware that the federal government relies on funds received from fuel excise (42.3 cents a litre) to pay for the construction and maintenance of your roads?
Yes: 86.6%
No: 13.4%
Q: Because they don’t pay fuel excise, do you agree that owners of electric vehicles (and other alternative-fuelled vehicles) should be contributing to the cost of construction and maintenance of your roads in another way?
Yes: 79.9%
No: 20.1%
Q: Increasing the roll-out of future technologies such as electric vehicles onto the road network is very important.
If electric vehicles (and other alternative-fuelled vehicles) were to contribute to the construction and maintenance of your roads through a road-user charge, should it be at a cost:
No cost: 13.1%
Less than fuel excise: 31.4%
Equivalent to fuel excise: 46.7%
More than fuel excise: 2.1%
Unsure/Other: 6.8%
Q: If electric vehicles are to pay a road-user charge, it should be at a rate that does not discourage their uptake. Do you agree with this statement?
Yes: 78.1%
No: 21.9%
Having a clear picture of how much fuel you can realistically expect your car to use is crucial for many household budgets.
We wanted to hear how this influences car purchasing decisions, and how much you trust the current testing system.
Q: What are the top three factors that are important to you when choosing a new car?
Price: 60%
Fuel efficiency: 52%
Servicing costs: 52%
Performance: 30%
Safety: 52%
Style: 16%
Resale value: 9%
Size: 54%
Q: Has your trust in carmakers generally been impacted by recent penalties issued to some manufacturers (including Volkswagen AG, Audi AG) for making false representations about vehicle emissions standards?
Yes: 53%
No: 47%
Q: How much do you trust fuel consumption figures as reported by manufacturers?
Totally trust: 1%
Somewhat trust: 16%
Unsure: 36%
Mistrust: 32%
Strongly Mistrust: 14%
Q: In addition to lab tests, should fuel consumption in new cars also be tested on real roads and in real Australian driving conditions?
Yes: 94%
No: 3%
Unsure: 3%
Q: Should these tests, conducted on-road to better reflect actual Australian driving conditions, be overseen by:
The federal government: 59%
The car manufacturer: 6%
Other: 36%
New figures revealing an 11.7% annual increase in road deaths send an unambiguous message that state governments must agree to Federal demands to share critical data about the causes of road trauma.
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The latest AAA Transport Affordability Index reveals transport cost rises exceeded the consumer price index not only in the September 2023 quarter but also over the 12 months to the end of September.
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Initial results of Australia’s first program to test vehicle real-world performance show the cars tested use up to 13% more fuel on the road than they did in lab tests reported by manufacturers.
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