There has been an absolute flurry of strategies, policies and discussion papers emanating from the Australian Government in recent weeks. Less than 12 months out from a federal election this is not unexpected, but it is certainly keeping the BIC Secretariat on its toes.

In the course of days, the Government has released the National Battery Strategy, which gives a nod to the bus industry and how a strong and coordinated pipeline of state government procured buses could help support the fledgling battery manufacturing industry. We have jumped on this statement to continue our push for the Australian Government to lead the development of the pipeline and help resolve two associated critical issues – the peaks and troughs in purchasing and state to state inconsistencies in the definition and measurement of local content.

Within a day of one another, the consultation draft of the National Urban Policy and the Transport and Infrastructure Net Zero Consultation Roadmap were released. Both provide us with a great opportunity to highlight the importance of public transport and, particularly buses, in achieving government priorities. Our response to both documents – provided as submissions and verbally at meetings – highlight the importance of mode shift and ensuring governments put in place policy/programs/funding that encourages the use of public transport, including improving the frequency of services, span of operating hours per day, reliability, convenience and comfort.

Our response to the Transport and Infrastructure Net Zero Consultation Roadmap also emphasises that buses are the easy part of getting to zero emissions transport, but that battery operated electric buses are not the only solutions. Operators should be able to use the low- or zero-emission solution that works for them based on the nature of their business operations, location and geography. That is why we are ensuring that buses and coaches are not forgotten in our response to the Government’s consultation on low carbon liquid fuels.

It is also with great excitement that we have released a few papers of our own. I recommend to you our second Zero Emission Bus Advisory – Operation and Maintenance and our Bus Industry Policy Position Statement: Driving Towards Zero Emissions. In a few more days we will also be releasing the BIC/APTIA Recruitment and Retention Project Policy Manifesto and Workplace Culture Toolkit. 

We continue working hard on behalf of this great industry to support you. We appreciate your ongoing support and input to all we do.

Roz Chivers
Executive Director, BIC