Federal election cycling infrastructure commitment – Animal Justice Party

IBUG has written to candidates in Cunningham and Whitlam to gauge support for active transport.  We know all candidates are extremely busy with multiple demands leading up the election but we will continue to publish all feedback we receive about party commitments to active transport.  

In addition to support from the Greens, today we have heard from Tim Lavers, the Animal Justice Party (AJP) candidate for Cunningham.  Tim has said “YES” to all asks and confirmed AJP support for IBUG and Bicycle NSW calls for the five points we raised those being:

1.      Increased per capita funding for active transport to $15/year: This investment would amount to around $400 million per year, a significant increase in funding for active transport, but still small compared with the total amount spent on roads (for comparison, per capita funding for roads is estimated to be around $714 per capita per year).

2.      Instituting national targets for mode shift to active transport: These targets should be monitored and reported against annually to ensure progress.

3.      Enforcing safe and compliant e-mobility: Restrictions should be placed on the importation of illegal devices that threaten to undermine e-mobility progress and increase the risk of fires.

4.      Using the taxation system to incentivise the take-up of e-bikes: The Fringe Benefits Tax exemption currently available for electric cars should be extended to e-bikes, and subsidies could be in the form of discounts and rebates for purchase.

5.      Introducing national subsidy schemes to encourage e-mobility: E-bikes should be included in any policy that subsidises EVs, as subsidising e-bikes is much cheaper for governments and e-bikes are much more affordable than electric cars.