Okay, you can thank me later. I, through nothing more than a willingness to help, have saved you people an hour or so of your precious time. How you ask? Well, I have read the entire draft Regulation Impact Statement on the introduction of Euro 5/6 Emission Standards into the Australian Design Regulations. If you wish to read it yourself you can find it by clicking on this link.

What does all this mean? Well, it means that as of 1 January 2012 all new vehicles sold in Australia will have to meet Euro 5 Emission Standards to be acceptable for sale, and as of 1 January 2016 all new vehicles will have to meet Euro 6 Standards. For the uninitiated Euro Emission Standards are perhaps the most stringent in the world. I won’t go into them now for space and time reasons but it is hoped that by introducing these standards hydrocarbons will be reduced by up to 50 per cent, nitrogen oxides reduced by up to 70 per cent and particulate matter by up to 90 per cent. It’s a good thing that we are looking to introduce these standards and I am not being sarcastic or facetious in any way when I say this.

What can I say about the document itself? Well, it’s 93 pages long, has lots of graphs and words and sets out what it hopes to achieve and has a plan to achieve what it wants to achieve, which, is lower vehicle emissions. So, if passed, what will this new bill actually achieve? The answer is….nothing. It is a complete waste of everyone’s time.

Let me explain something about the way vehicles are manufactured globally. Vehicle manufacturers do not, other than choosing which side the steering wheel sits on, tailor their product for every market it could be conceivably sold in. Therefore, the Australian market does not get different engines in our vehicles just because we have lower emission standards than other markets. Doing this would be economically unviable. Most vehicle manufacturers are now global and manufacture their cars so that with the slightest of tweaking they can be sold in every market on this small blue-green planet.

Conservatively, 95 per cent of vehicles sold in Australia are also sold in Europe, and as Euro 5 Emission Standards became part of European Law in September 2009, these vehicles, already comply with the emission standards. When the Federal Government applies the changes nothing will actually change.

It’s an acknowledged fact that vehicle emissions have actually decreased since the levels of the 1970’s despite their being more vehicles on the road. This is due to the implementation of unleaded fuel, catalytic converters and other anti-pollution equipment that older vehicles don’t have. Even I will admit, though, that vehicle emissions remain a problem with the quality of air in our country.

If the Government wants to do something about vehicle emissions I have some suggestions and observations that they may want to consider.

Why is it that when I’m driving in my Holden V8, which as it’s sold in Europe as a Vauxhall complies with Euro 5 Standards, I have to endure sitting behind a 1995 Mitsubishi Magna which is spewing out black smoke from it’s exhaust? Current vehicle standards are not covered by the above document as it is, according to the document, traditionally the precinct of the states and their transport bodies eg. VicRoads. It is clear to me that the current fractured approach to motoring in this country is not working and it may be time to Nationalise our motoring ways.

Why hasn’t a Cash For Scrap plan, similar to that in the UK, being implemented? Families could take their old clunker car into a car yard and receive a discount on the purchase of a brand new car. This would have many benefits. Firstly, the new car would pollute the air less. Secondly, the family would have a car with better safety than their old one. Thirdly, the Government would be assisting business and therefore receive the majority of the money they have handed out back as GST and other taxes.

Why hasn’t the Government encouraged the Australian manufacturers to develop an alternative fuel powered vehicle, such as Hydrogen Fuel Cell? We have some of the cleverest people in the world working for our Australian vehicle manufacturers and the technology is there. Let’s get on with it. Can we lead the world for once and not follow behind blindly?

I have to end now, my face is starting to go purple when I think of other things that pollute the world far more than cars. Coal-fired power stations, air travel, Canberra, self-righteous Toyota Prius drivers……arrrrrrgh.

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