- by Peter Farmer
- The Guardian
- Issue #2208
The Crisafulli LNP government is critical of the Labor government that came before it, calling Labor’s electric bus program a “half-baked plan” and chiding Labor for providing no plans or money for recharging facilities or additional depots.
You might think a forward-looking government would get onto fixing this right away. A government that cared about saving money and doing its utmost to slow climate change would build those charging stations. However, this is the Crisafulli LNP government we’re talking about. They’re binning the electric busses and signing up to buy 630 diesel vehicles just as Climate Change is having serious consequences and diesel prices are rocketing up.
The government’s press release on the decision to buy new busses is loud on what it thinks was wrong with the previous Labor government’s plan for electric busses, but coy on what’s going to power the new busses, preferring to say the word ‘modern’ a lot.
Minister for Transport and Main Roads Brent Mickelberg announced the “Better Bus Build” at an event at Transdev’s Capalaba depot. “Queensland is growing and we’re working to deliver the road and transport upgrades to get Queenslanders home sooner and safer.”
The announcement continues a trend of turning away from the clean energy transition from a government that has already dumped Labor’s renewable energy targets and its emission goals.
The announcement sets Queensland apart from other states which are investing in electric busses and charging hubs in a big way.
