Earth First | A look at Australia's National EV Strategy

Successful development and implementation of such a strategy is welcome and long overdue.

However, according to postdoctoral researcher Gail Broadbent, from the UNSW School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, such a strategy will not be a success unless certain key elements are included.

Dr Broadbent says that mandatory fuel emissions standards in line with those in countries such as the United States, Canada, China Japan and most of Europe must be introduced.

Strict fuel emissions standards will have the effect of encouraging vehicle manufacturers to move towards selling Australia more fuel-efficient cars and to offer a greater range of electric vehicles than are currently available.

Low fuel emissions standards make Australia a target for the sale of fuel inefficient vehicles and discourage overseas manufacturers from offering the range of EVs available in countries with stricter controls.

It is essential that electric vehicles are affordable. A way of doing this is to introduce tax concessions for EVs..

Adequate infrastructure must be in place for the recharging of EVs including sufficient recharging stations to eliminate concern about running out of power on the road.

"Builders need to be encouraged to install power points in private garages and apartment blocks that are accessible for vehicle recharge," local EV driver Peter Bilenkij added.

It should be made policy that all government departments replace their fleets with EVs.

This should provide a guaranteed market for electric vehicles, thereby encouraging the import of a wide range, something that is currently lacking when it comes to EV choice in Australia.

Anticipated EV take up will obviously require more energy which must be sourced from renewable supplies. This means that there will be a need to expand the national grid to cater for increased demand..

There needs to be an education program to raise awareness of its objectives and implementation.

Need is education to ensure that the workforce required to maintain electric vehicles is adequately trained.

Local EV operator and owner of Eco Luxe Transfers Kate Hook says that owning an EV in regional areas is much easier than people think and says it is crucial for the government to get these clean energy technologies into peoples' lives as quickly as possible.

"It's very important to help with the cost of living," Ms Hook says.

"I experienced this in recent times of high petrol prices, from which I am immune, as the only fuel my car needs is the sun. This protection from volatile fuel prices should be available to all households."