Yahoo Finance $10k towards an apprenticeship: Albanese’s plan to reach net zero
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has promised to make electric vehicles (EVs) cheaper and double investment in EV charging.
Speaking at the Sydney Energy Forum on Tuesday, Albanese confirmed his Government’s commitment to develop a national electric vehicle strategy.
Prior to the election, Labor committed to a national strategy as well as lowering the cost of low-emissions cars by altering tax settings.
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Labor said it would exempt electric cars below the luxury-car-tax threshold - which was $79,659 in 2021-22 - from import tariffs and the fringe benefits tax.
These changes could save motorists thousands on new EV purchases, according to the Electric Vehicle Council.
The former Coalition government had a low-emissions car strategy, the Future Fuels and Vehicles Strategy, which was introduced late last year.
This strategy was focused on driving uptake of EVs in fleets to help create a market for second-hand vehicles and make them more affordable.
Net zero plan to create thousands of jobs
Albanese also outlined his Government's plan to reach net zero by 2050 and cut emissions by 43 per cent by 2030, as per its climate commitments.
He said his Government's decarbonisation agenda, which included investment to create new industries in battery manufacturing and green hydrogen, would create 604,000 extra jobs - the bulk of which would be in regional Australia.
Upskilling the workforce is central to the plan.
In the lead-up to the election, Labor committed to subsidising training in new energy industries, paying apprentices who chose to train in new energy industries could be eligible for $10,000 from the Government, starting with $2,000 on commencement and $2,000 a year for up to four years afterwards.
As many as 10,000 New Energy Apprenticeships will be available over four years.
So, what are these new energy industries?
The Government plans to allocate as much as $3 billion to help industries decarbonise and new industries grow.
These industries include battery and energy storage, manufacturing clean energy components and hydrogen electrolysers.
“We see enormous potential in hydrogen, and Australia has all the ingredients needed to become both a major hydrogen producer and a global exporter,” Albanese said.
Albanese said Australia had more than 70 hydrogen projects in the pipeline and 91 per cent of that production was planned to be green hydrogen.
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