Roger Jaensch,Minister for Climate Change
The Tasmanian Liberal Government is committed to supporting electric vehicle uptake to reduce our reliance on imported fossil fuels, drive increased demand for our own renewable energy, and reduce pollution in our towns and cities.
That’s why I’m pleased to now deliver on our commitment for a second Electric Vehicle ChargeSmart Program, to expand our charging network to more regional areas and key tourism destinations, making it possible for more EV users to travel more of our State, more easily.
ChargeSmart 2 will see the installation of an additional 20 publicly available electric vehicle fast charging stations so that EV users can charge promptly to complete longer routes or return journeys, as well as an additional 23 publicly available charging stations at locations including public car parks, councils, businesses, and visitor destinations.
The Program will support new fast chargers in:
- Exeter, George Town, Derby or Fingal in the North and North East;
- Ouse and Miena in the Highlands;
- Along the Great Eastern Drive, in Bicheno, Dunalley, Triabunna;
- In Burnie, Sheffield, Smithton, Strahan, Tullah, and Waratah in the North West;
- In Oatlands and Maydena; and
- On Bruny Island in the South.
This will bring the ChargeSmart network up to 80 chargers across our state and the total number of public charging points across Tasmania to over 120.
Importantly, it will mean the average distance between a ChargeSmart charging station will be just 47 km – well within the range of even the most basic EV – an important factor in addressing ‘range anxiety’, one of the few remaining barriers to the uptake of electric vehicles.
In fact, Tasmania now has the largest number of charging stations per person of any Australian State or Territory.
The 2021-22 Tasmanian Budget provided $600,000 for ChargeSmart 2. Reflecting the high quality of applications, a further $175,000 has been provided to bring the total funding to $775,000, and stimulate a total investment spend of over $1.7 million.
The ChargeSmart 2 Grant Program complements other actions we are taking to reduce transport emissions, including our commitment to transition the Government fleet to 100% zero emissions vehicles by 2030, a two-year stamp duty waiver for EVs, two-years’ free registration for EVs for rental car companies, and our commitment to trial zero emissions Metro buses.
We will continue to support the uptake of EVs, to drive economic growth and jobs, reduce emissions and make it easier for Tasmanians and visitors alike to be part of one of the world’s first net-zero emissions economies as we reconnect our State and secure Tasmania’s future.
A full list of successful applications for ChargeSmart 2 will be soon available at https://www.climatechange.tas.gov.au
