Queensland Makes Electric Vehicle Progress Despite Government Shift to the Right

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Last Updated on: 20th May 2025, 02:17 am

Late in 2024, Queensland citizens voted out the left-leaning Labour state government and voted in the more conservative Liberal National Party. Electric vehicle purchases by government agencies have been affected. From the official website: “The QFleet Vehicle Emissions Reduction Strategy 2025-2030 (ER Strategy) was introduced on 10 March 2025, replacing the QFleet Electric Vehicle Transition Strategy 2023-2026. This removed the mandate to transition all eligible QFleet passenger vehicles to zero emission vehicles by 31 December 2026.”

As the chart above shows, Queensland is making some progress in the uptake of electric vehicles. This is despite voting in a conservative government which is subtly slowing the purchase of plug-in electric vehicles for the public fleet. The outgoing Labor state government was committed to doubling the numbers of EVs in the fleet each year. It had achieved a penetration rate of approximately 20% as of March 2025. Out of the total QFleet fleet number of 11,424 vehicles, 2,228 were BEV (full battery electrics) and 14 PHEV (plug-in hybrids). QFleet also contains 1,882 HEV (conventional hybrid) vehicles. Australia’s national penetration rate of plug-in vehicles sits at about 10%.

According to a spokesperson for the Department of Housing and Public Works, there has been no formal announcement of the policy change, but QFleet customers were notified last month. The new target is a 10% overall fleet emission reduction by 2030, with the fleet emissions as at June 2024 as the baseline. The conspiracy theorist in me expects that this would mean more HEV vehicles will be purchased over a BEV alternative. We will have to wait and see. At least they are not buying any more hydrogen-powered cars.

Meanwhile, the wholly state government owned energy company Ergon is keeping a close eye on the charging of electric vehicles in the community. Since May 2020, it has been conducting a research program focussed on residential charging. It gathers data to help understand the needs of its customers and the potential impact of EV charging behaviour on the electricity network. “Balancing demand and supply have always been the key to delivering secure, affordable, sustainable and safe energy solutions.”

The latest Ergon Energy report tells us that as of March 2025, Queensland had registrations for 56,676 BEVs, including 313 light commercial vehicles, 162 electric buses, and 34 electric trucks; 12,552 PHEVs; and 1,767 electric motorcycles. This is recorded in the chart above. Ergon Energy is a state government owned organisation that builds and maintains the electricity network in regional Queensland.

And what of the broader transition to renewables? Despite a campaign promise to maintain emissions targets already set by the previous state government, the LNP has reverted to the federal Liberal position of “net zero by 2050.” This has meant a re-examination of major renewables projects that had already been approved, causing fear and uncertainty in the market. One of the new government’s first actions was to cancel a controversial pumped hydro project.

“It never stacked up financially, it never stacked up environmentally, it didn’t have traditional owner consent,” David Crisafulli, the Premier of Queensland, said.

Some are complaining that there is still no plan for Queensland’s energy future. “The LNP Government was elected on a promise to Queenslanders that they would take action to secure an affordable, renewable energy future. The new Government is only two weeks away from 100 days in office, and they have not delivered a plan for Queensland’s energy future. Last week exposed the unreliability of Queensland’s ageing coal fired power stations when a unit at Callide power station went offline during a heat wave. This shows that money cannot fix the fundamental problem that we have an ageing, increasingly unreliable coal fleet. We need a strong plan to replace our coal fired power stations with renewable energy backed by storage,” Queensland Conservation Council Energy Strategist Clare Silcock said in January 2025.

The LNP has introduced legislation to subject wind farm approvals to strict community consultation guidelines, thus making them subject to legal challenges. The Guardian reports: “Some coal mines could face an easier approvals process than renewable energy projects under a proposed crackdown on windfarms in Queensland, according to an environmental group.” 

The LNP state government is proposing to keep aging coal-fired power stations open for longer, and it is looking to gas as a viable energy source. “The Queensland Conservation Council director, Dave Copeman, said the government had been elected ‘after they promised to reduce emissions by 75% by 2035’ and estimated keeping Callide open another three years would cost the taxpayer $420m,” The Guardian separately reports.

However, recent announcements of progress are encouraging. The 1.4 gigawatt (GW) Wongalee Wind Farm proposed for Yirendali Country near Hughenden received state development approval last week. The Wongalee Wind Farm will be comprised of 175 wind turbines on pastoral land near the rural township of Prairie, about 300 km southwest of Townsville. We are yet to hear of any progress with the other wind projects that have been put on hold.

The energy tussles continue at all levels of government. Australia’s recent federal election has reinstalled a progressive Labour (cf Democrat) House of Representatives with an increased majority. However, Labour does not have a clear majority in the Senate where the Greens will hold the balance of power. The implications are that there will be more progress in the fight over climate change. One of Labour’s vote-winning promises was subsidised home batteries. With Australia’s massive rooftop solar penetration, this should mean a proliferation of virtual power plants and a reduction in the use of gas peaker plants. The solar duck and the evening peak demand may be in for a huge transition. Queensland has one of the highest levels of rooftop solar in Australia — or the world as a whole.

At a local level, Brisbane is moving to reduce citywide emissions from its bus fleet with the expansion of the City Metro. The city is in preparation mode for the 2032 Olympics. Majella had a chance to observe these vehicles up close on a recent visit to the CBD. 

So, despite the clear win for the environment at a federal level, the energy battles continue. Progress is being made. Although, sometimes it feels like two steps forward, one step sideways, and a step backwards. (With a do-si-do, perhaps?)