Canberra single mother of three Margaret Limn recently had to give up clients from her small cleaning business to spend more time looking after her family.
“Striking a balance between being somewhat comfortable financially and taking care of my family is a no-brainer, but it still makes things very tight,” she says.
He says that means his weekly income of $1,600, of which $750 is immediately taken out to pay rent, has had to be stretched.
“My two teenage boys are growing up all the time, so they take turns to see who needs shoes or clothes or things like that,” she says.
Margaret earns $1,600 per week, of which $750 is immediately rented. (Photo credit: Margaret Limn)
Margaret says her kids know things are tight and sometimes volunteer not to do anything new.
“If they need something, or I say they need something, they say ‘we don’t need it mum’, which I find very sad.”
Although Margaret describes herself as environmentally conscious, she feels as though environmentally friendly measures are sometimes pushed towards those at a “higher tax bracket”.
“I do all the little things that: I can recycle and reuse things as much as possible, and I try to find economical ways. [to] help the environment,” he says.
“I think it’s becoming more accessible and less of a trend.”
“Looks like they’re trying to take the poorest people out of town”
But Margaret says the recent announcement that the ACT will ban the sale of new petrol cars in 2035 has worried her, as electric vehicles are out of reach for her at their current price.
“With this [announcement] and the rental market in Canberra, it looks like they’re trying to push the poorest people out of the city and realistically that doesn’t make any sense because who’s going to clean it up?”
Margaret says that because she has no credit rating, she can’t get financing for a car.
The ACT Government’s recently announced Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Strategy 2022-2030 also includes a “long-term” plan to overhaul the way Canberrans will pay for their car registration, with rates to be based on emissions rather than weight.
“It’s going to make it very difficult for people who can’t afford an electric car, and it looks like they’re going to be penalized for that,” he says.
“I find it very frustrating – people own their own house so they have equity, they easily get loans if they need it… [but] I have basically no credit rating and I imagine many other people in my situation or worse would not be able to get financing for a car.”
ZEVs are unaffordable for low- and moderate-income earners, says ACOSS
Acting CEO of the Australian Council of Social Services (ACOSS), Edwina MacDonald, says electric vehicles are not only out of reach and inaccessible for people on low incomes, but also for people on moderate incomes.
Ms MacDonald says when considering policies such as the ACT’s electric vehicle strategy, governments need to ask questions about how the legislation will affect wider equality in their states and territories.
Acting ACOSS chief executive Edwina MacDonald says people on lower incomes could be penalized by charging registration based on emissions. (ABC News: Matt Roberts)
“We need policies that address the impacts of climate change and also ensure that we are not increasing inequality, but policy that reduces inequality and poverty at the same time,” he says.
“Raising emission-based registration while EV costs remain high, for example, will penalize low-income people who cannot afford EVs.
“We urge governments to consult more widely and put people with less at the heart of policy design. If we get the policies right, we can rapidly reduce emissions and create a safer and fairer society.”
The government says electric vehicles could be cheaper than petrol cars within a decade
ACT Emissions Reduction Minister Shane Rattenbury says the ACT Government is committed to ensuring the transition to ZEV vehicles is fair.
“It is vitally important that we ensure the transition to zero-emissions transport is fair, ensuring that everyone in our community, including people on low incomes, is not left behind,” he says.
“The ACT already has the most extensive financial incentives to reduce the cost barriers to buying a zero-emission vehicle, including stamp duty exemptions for new and second-hand electric vehicles, free two-year registration and interest-free loans from up to $15,000 through the Sustainable Homes Plan.”
ACT Energy and Emissions Reduction Minister Shane Rattenbury says the government expects ZEVs to be cheaper to produce than equivalent petrol or diesel vehicles by 2027. (ABC News: Nick Haggarty)
Rattenbury says the cost of ZEVs will drop significantly before 2035 as more second-hand electric vehicles become available on the market, possibly even seeing them become more affordable than petrol cars.
“The global vehicle market is changing rapidly. Electric vehicle prices have fallen substantially over the past few years and continue to fall. According to market experts, electric vehicles will be cheaper to produce than equivalent vehicles with an internal combustion engine in 2027,” he says.
“So the good news is that Canberrans can expect to see EVs become, on average, cheaper than equivalent petrol or diesel vehicles over the next decade.
“As more EVs hit ACT roads, there will be greater availability of second-hand EVs. This will help make them more affordable and available to more Canberra households.”
But Margaret says she hopes the ACT government will find more ways to actively support those on lower incomes who are trying to do their bit for the environment.
“If the government really wants to help the environment, it will surely make it easier for people in less financially sound situations than others to have electric vehicles,” he says.
“I think it’s admirable that we’ve set this goal that we’re aiming for, but the reality for people on lower incomes [is that] it’s just another thing coming up there in the future that’s going to bite us in the ass.”