Labor and the Greens are on different paths over providing small loans for low-income Canberrans to be able to buy e-bikes, with the smaller coalition partner saying the Chief Minister is out of touch on the potential cost of the bikes.
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The ACT Greens spokeswoman on transport and active travel, Jo Clay, said she was disappointed Chief Minister Andrew Barr thought $2000 was not a barrier to purchasing an e-bike.
"E-bikes are a great way of replacing a car or the second family car. But to get reliable transport, you might need an e-bike with a longer range battery, or an e-cargo bike that can carry the shopping or a couple of kids. These cost more than $2000. They should be included in the sustainable household loan scheme," Ms Clay said.
"Despite what Andrew Barr believes, $2000 is a lot of money to many Canberrans. If you're a student, someone on welfare, or if you work part time, you may not be able to afford the upfront payment of an e-bike or e-cargo bike, most of which are over $2000."
Ms Clay had used Tuesday's Legislative Assembly question time to ask Chief Minister Andrew Barr why e-bikes were not included in the government's $150 million sustainable household scheme.
The scheme provides interest-free loans of up to $15,000 to cover the cost of upgrades or sustainable products, including solar panels and electric cars, for means-tested households.
Mr Barr said the minimum loan amount on the scheme was $2000 due predominantly to administration costs, and there were e-bikes available below that price.
"Access to capital is not a major barrier to purchasing an e-bike. You can buy an e-bike for less than $1000, and you can certainly buy a wide range of e-bikes for between $1000 and $2000, all of which falls below the minimum loan amount of the scheme," Mr Barr said.
Mr Barr said the scheme was designed for capital intensive products with a payback period over a decade, and the government would not consider lowering the minimum loan amount. He said the government would continue to evaluate the products available on the scheme.
"An individual who can't raise $2000 may have difficulty paying a loan back, so we have to be very wary of the type of loan arrangements that we put people into in that context for such small amounts of a loan. That is a concern," he said.
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Jasper Lindell
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
