Nats promise 10,000 EV chargers by 2030

National leader Christopher Luxon makes an announcement on electric vehicle chargers in Christchurch. Photo: RNZ
National leader Christopher Luxon makes an announcement on electric vehicle chargers in Christchurch. Photo: RNZ
National Party leader Christopher Luxon has promised 10,000 electric vehicle chargers by 2030 if his party is elected to govern.

National would also abolish the ute tax and Clean Car Discount by December.

The announcement comes as Luxon and other party members visit Christchurch today.

Speaking to media, Luxon repeated his concern for the economy and said that New Zealand was the only country in the Asia-Pacific region in a recession.

He was shocked, he said, by Labour leader Chris Hipkins' claim that the economic fundamentals were in great shape.

"Kiwis up and down this country are doing it incredibly tough. They are experiencing a cost-of-living crisis that is going on and on ..."

He said National had the economic plan to get the economy moving again.

As part of rebuilding the economy, infrastructure needed to be improved, Luxon said.

More investment in the transport sector would be accelerating the transition to electric vehicles, including the supporting infrastructure.

Luxon said at present the country had only one public charger per 95 EVs, while in the UK there was one public charger for 20 EVs.

"That's where we need to be heading to."

Motorists were concerned over being able to get to where they wanted to be in an EV - and it was a barrier to people buying them.

Luxon referred to it as "range anxiety for electric vehicles".

To combat that, National wanted to invest in a network and deliver 10,000 chargers that would be in place by 2030.

Luxon said $257 million would be spent on the chargers. The ultra-fast broadband model would be revived so the government could work with business to deliver it.

National would do away with the need for resource consent because the installation of electric chargers would be a permitted activity, and it would abolish the ute tax and Clean Car Discount by December.

Luxon said in line with a policy previously announced on renewable energy, National was committed to doubling the amount of renewable electricity produced to make it "abundant, cheap and freely available".

Consents for the likes of solar and wind farms would be approved within one year.

National Party transport spokesman Simeon Brown said the new policy would be given to the new national infrastructure agency to handle, red tape would be cut, the rollout of the chargers would be nationwide, and "will make a huge difference to New Zealand's future".

Earlier on Wednesday, Luxon told Morning Report he was confident proper processes had been followed in National's decision to base a third medical school at Waikato University.

The assurance followed RNZ's revelations that the head of Waikato University referred to the setting up of the medical school as "a present" to a future National government.

He also hit back at claims National was being hypocritical over its angry response to attack ads on him by the Council of Trade Unions.

Luxon said the attack ads were a choice by Labour and the CTU "to go personal and negative on the scale that they have" and he was focusing on the real issues such as rising housing costs and better health and education outcomes.