Originally Posted by
justakiwi
As I said, I fully accept that we need to do our bit, and we are. Already more than many countries are. Every little bit helps, but we do need to keep in mind that our contribution overall can only ever be minimal. That does not mean, do nothing. But it does mean, we should not focus solely on climate change/environmental issues. It should be a part of our overall future planning as a country, but it should not be our number one priority, over and above everything else.
People need homes, they need jobs, they need food to feed their families. We need power and telecommunications. We need practical, affordable transport opportunities. We need to be realistic about all of these issues. If people choose to drive an electric vehicle, that's great, but the vast majority of low/middle income Kiwis will never be in a position to buy or maintain one. Some of us have never owned a new car in our lives, never will, and don't even wish to. We buy secondhand cars that are already at least ten years old, often older, and we drive them into the ground, until they are close to packing up, before we replace them. We can't afford to do it any other way. Someone like me simply cannot afford to buy a used car that has a short life span - and by that, I am referring to EV batteries. No way in hell is a secondhand EV going to run for me for twenty years as my current car has. I cannot afford to be replacing an EV battery. So, for me, and many others, these vehicles are a cool concept with zero practicality for our particular situations. As for encouraging farmers to drive EVs - that is pie in the sky idealism, with no grounding in reality. If the government wants to gift my son one, no doubt he would use it, but I can guarantee it would not be fit for purpose, nor would it be a vehicle he could continue to use/drive for ten or more years.
In other words, as I have already said - governments need to find balance. Something Labour has not been able, or willing to do.