A Green Energy, Green Car Policy: Executive Summary

Australia has the unique ability to reduce its carbon emissions,
the cost of a carbon-trading system, its dependence on imported
oil and cars and thereby cut its burgeoning foreign debt.

Australia has the agricultural and industrial capacity to create
a major green renewable fuels industry combined with an
expanded domestic motor vehicle industry producing green,
flex-fuel cars capable of running on an ethanol mix of up to 85
per cent in petrol.
At US$50 a barrel, Australia’s net imports of crude and refined
fuel are likely to reach $27 billion a year by 2015, twice the
2005-06 deficit of $12.8 billion, according to Belinda Robinson,
Chief Executive of the Australian Petroleum Production and
Exploration Association.
Farmers will continue to produce the sugar cane needed for
an efficient ethanol industry only if the Federal Government
legislates for an equitable and transparent pricing mechanism
for cane supply, including final-offer arbitration, and creates
a marketing authority for fuel ethanol. No other policy could
deliver a more substantial, sustainable cash flow to Australia’s
struggling rural industries. This would not impact on human
food or stock food prices.
In 2005 Australia’s deficit in trade in automotive vehicles and
parts was around $18 billion and domestically-produced
cars fell below 30 per cent of new car sales. This could be
substantially turned around by a domestically-owned car
industry producing small and medium, as well as the currently
produced large, vehicle range as flex-fuel cars.
Australia’s combined deficit on imported cars and fuel is over
$30 billion, which is set to rise sharply. This is unsustainable for
Australia with its growing net foreign debt of $544 billion (53
per cent of GDP). A large sugar-cane-based ethanol industry
and a domestically-owned car industry are the solution.

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