Clean Car Standard still a lemon ready for the scrap heap

Responding to the Government's move to slash Clean Car Standard charges, Taxpayers' Union spokesman James Ross says the scheme should be scrapped, not salvaged.

"The Standard has been a mess since day one. Labour originally set targets tougher than the EU, Japan, and South Korea. Importers were always going to miss them, and when you can't meet a target, the 'penalties' are just another tax. Families, farmers, and tradies have been paying the price."

"Charges don't help the climate one iota. Transport emissions are already capped under the Emissions Trading Scheme, and drivers pay for it with every litre at the pump. The less efficient the vehicle, the more they already pay. Any emissions the Standard claims to save just pop up elsewhere."

"Cutting the charges is a start, but the whole scheme was doomed from the outset. Minister Bishop should do the obvious thing and scrap it entirely."