Australia’s Coal-Fondling Prime Minister Pretends To Like EVs
In a piece of news that hit all channels a couple of days ago, Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Angus Taylor, Minister for Emissions Reduction, were interviewed while filling up a Toyota with grey hydrogen. What made this so cringeworthy was that the headlines and comments were saying that Morrison had changed his tune on EVs. No he hasn’t.
Three years ago he lambasted EVs (and the opposition’s policies), saying, “They won’t tow your boat, they won’t tow your caravan.” And one of his ministers said that EVs were an attack on the tradies’ ute.
Morrison could easily say times and technology have changed, because they have. Instead, he is flatly denying that he said the comments in the first place. No mention of the fact that there are only 4 places in Australia where you can pump your hydrogen into your car while towing your caravan and that it will cost 8 times more than petrol, which costs 8 times more than electricity.
The Morrison government should be congratulated for promising more money for EV chargers, but then booed and hissed for promising 5 times that for unproven carbon capture technology. He just doesn’t get that the technology we have is enough if it is deployed quickly and at scale, or he knows but doesn’t care.
Let’s go back to what inspired this tirade — the video of Morrison holding the hydrogen hose and telling Taylor to fill it up. This is an advertisement for Toyota, a known laggard on EVs and a lobbyist against EVs, and an ad for hydrogen made from unnatural gas (fossil methane). I guess it’s whatever it takes to slow down the uptake of EVs and increase the uptake of gas.
Meanwhile, at a state level, governments from both sides of the house are bringing in more and more incentives for the increasing use of electric vehicles. The establishment of renewable energy zones is rapidly increasing the installation of green power, and even the humble homeowner is doing their part by putting solar on the roof.
This is what is driving our rEVolution in Australia — ordinary people, community groups, councils, and states. Certainly not the federal government of ScoalMo and Anxious.
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