Reports have confirmed NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey plans to scrap a $3,000 subsidy and reintroduce stamp duty for drivers who buy an electric vehicle (EV).

The Minns Government’s unflagged backflip on EV incentives will crimp the spread of electric cars to Sydney’s west, deteriorate air quality and significantly increase the state’s carbon emissions, according to the Electric Vehicle Council (EVC).

“I doubt the people who voted for this government thought they were voting to cut electric vehicle incentives to fund handouts to coal-fired power stations. Labor backed these EV incentives when the former government introduced them and did not give any indication they were planning to cut them before the election,” EVC chief executive Behyad Jafari says.

“The NSW incentives, combined with more affordable EV imports, were just starting to drive significant uptake in Sydney’s west and the state’s regions. Now the government wants to kill that momentum.”

Behyad doesn’t see the change impacting wealthy people who will continue to buy EVs but says less well-off families will be forced to continue using petrol cars during a time when fuel prices are soaring.

Reintroducing a stamp duty will also hinder a replacement of road user charges planned to take in 2027, an important tax reform Behyad says is in the best interest of motorists by replacing an upfront tax that often-stopped people from getting into a newer, cleaner car.

Behyad urges the NSW Parliament to reject Labor’s changes to preserve the benefits of the existing policy settings, stating that NSW was making outstanding progress on EV uptake under the previous government and the current policies were voted for by the Coalition, the Greens and Labor.