Vic government sued in High Court over EV tax

Victoria’s astonishingly awful EV road tax – a world first that’s as well thought out as charging people for each extra year they’ve lived after being given a Covid 19 vaccine – has been an international embarrassment, and one of those things that makes you feel both ashamed to be an Australian and helpless. But now two drivers have stood up to fight the stupidity by challenging the legality of the tax in the highest court in the land.

The case was filed on behalf of the two concerned and obviously quite passionate Victorian citizens by Equity Generation Lawyers and will argue that the Victorian government does not have the constitutional power to impose its controversial tax on electric vehicles.

The legal firm is the same one that recently represented eight teenagers who took Federal environment minister Sussan Ley to court to argue that she had a duty to protect young people from the climate crisis, a case that they won.

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In July this year,  the Victorian Government introduced a tax that charges EV drivers between 2 and 2.5 cents for every kilometre they drive; the charge is to make up for the lack of fuel excise that EV owners pay, even though drivers of hybrid cars are paying less in fuel excise but they don’t get additional charges.

Jack McLean, lawyer for the drivers, said the tax was bad for Victorians and bad for the climate, as well as being unconstitutional. 

“In addition to the validity of the tax, our clients are concerned it’s also bad public policy,” McLean said. 

“It discourages everyday Australians from switching to lower-emission vehicles, prolonging our dependence on polluting oil.”

Chris Vanderstock, a nurse manager from Melbourne, is one of the EV drivers bringing the case and  uses his car for his daily work commute.

“Instead of taxing clean technologies, the Victorian Government should be concentrating on getting dirty cars off the road,” Vanderstock said. 

“Electric vehicles are cleaner and improve health and climate outcomes for everybody.

“Why is the Victorian Government taxing electric vehicles when they have a demonstrable health benefit?”

The co-litigant in the High Court case is a Melbourne mother and engineering consultant, Kathleen Davies. She bought her first electric vehicle in 2012 to help reduce her environmental impact. 

“Not only are electric vehicles better for the environment, they are also cheaper to run,” Davies said. “Electric vehicles are becoming more affordable every year but this tax is a backward step for people wanting to transition to a cleaner and more economical car. 

“Victoria’s electric vehicle tax is fundamentally flawed and impractical. It punishes electric vehicle drivers and discourages the urgent need to decarbonise.” 

The case, which is sure to create plenty of damaging media attention for the Victorian government, was also welcomed by the Electric Vehicle Council, with chief executive Behyad Jafari declaring his support for the plaintiffs in the case.

“I’m not surprised to hear there are grounds for a legal challenge, this plan was developed in secret without consultation with experts and has been rejected as premature and destructive by every other government in Australia,” Jafari said.

“It is fundamentally unfair for the state government to punish Victorians who made the socially and environmentally responsible choice to select an electric vehicle over a combustion engine alternative.

“People who buy EVs instead of ICE vehicles a making the civic-minded choice. They are helping clean the air of the pollution, reduce the state’s carbon emissions, and lessen the state’s dependence on foreign oil. For the government of that state to then single them out for special punishment is bizarre and unfair.

“There is nothing wrong with road user charges, but to aim them solely at the most environmentally-responsible form of motor vehicle is totally misguided.

“This case is an opportunity for the Victorian Government to demonstrate its commitment to tackling climate change is real by scrapping this destructive tax and getting on with developing a plan that will accelerate electric vehicle uptake.

“I urge the Victorian Government to listen to reason. Expert after expert has lined up to tell them this tax is misguided. It’s not too late to drop it and work with us to support the future of EVs in Victoria, as every other state and territory in Australia is doing.”