11. Question No. 11—TransportGREG O'CONNOR (Labour—Ōhāriu) to the Minister of TransportQuestion No. 11—Transport11. GREG O'CONNOR (Labour—Ōhāriu) to the Minister of Transport: What updates has he seen regarding the Government's clean car package?Hon MICHAEL WOOD (Minister of Transport): It's been a very good week for the Government's clean car package and I've seen updates informing me that it passed its committee stage reading in the House yesterday and the third reading is expected to pass through the House this afternoon. The bill will increase the supply and variety of zero- and low-emission vehicles available for purchase in New Zealand by applying the clean vehicle standard to importers of new and used light vehicles. It will also increase the demand for zero- and low - carbon dioxide emissions vehicles by providing for the full Clean Car Discount scheme designed to incentivise through rebates and charges the purchase of zero and low emission vehicles. Our Government has moved to prevent New Zealand from becoming a dumping ground for the world's dirtiest vehicles by cleaning up our fleet and providing Kiwi consumers with more fuel-efficient vehicles at a lower price and that's good for our climate too.Greg O'Connor: What has the package delivered to date?Hon MICHAEL WOOD: As of the end of January there have been over 10700 electric vehicles (EV) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles registered since the scheme was introduced in July last year. To put that into context 2021 saw more electric vehicles registered than the entire period from 2013 to 2018 and about one in four electric vehicles on the road today have been registered since the Clean Car Discount took effect in July. As a result of this the new passenger vehicle segment has already achieved the standards' 2023 target across the fleet a year ahead of schedule. To support this increased uptake public EV charging has also become much more accessible with charging stations available on average every 75 kilometres over 97 percent of the State highway network. This programme is already delivering results. It's helping Kiwis get into cleaner vehicles it's stopping us becoming a dumping ground and it's actually a sign of this Government's commitment to not just talking about climate change but doing something about it.Greg O'Connor: Why is it important that there is an incentive scheme in place for clean cars?Hon MICHAEL WOOD: It's very important. I note that this whole Parliament has signed up to the independent Climate Commission's approach. This whole Parliament has signed up to that approach which is an expert-led approach which tells us that we need to reduce emissions from our transport sector by 41 percent by 2035. This sector's emissions have grown by 90 percent since 1990 and if we continue with the same policies that we've had we'll continue to have the same results. This Government wasn't prepared to see that happen. These policies make a difference in every single country in which they are in place and I note that every country around the world in the developed world except for Australia New Zealand and Russia currently has a standard as we are proposing here. This is about our Government and our country catching up with the rest of the world and getting Kiwi families the cleaner vehicles that they need which will save them a lot of money in the long term.