'Might be National's KiwiBuild' - Concerns over EV charger funding

You don't have to look far in Auckland to find an electric vehicle (EV), but drivers say finding a place to plug in can be a challenge.

"Sometimes because they're so far apart, and there's not that many, it takes you like half an hour to find a charger," an EV driver told 1News.

There are currently around 1400 public EV chargers across New Zealand, but the Government's goal is to get that to 10,000 by 2030.

"I think that number is just an aspirational number, I think it was just there to make it sound good," EV advocate Kathryn Trounson from Better NZ Trust said.

During the election campaign, National pledged $257m over 4 years to deliver those chargers, but this year's budget only allocated $95m over the same time period.

"Their entire climate policy in transport is hinging on investment in EV chargers," said Green Party transport spokesperson, Julie Anne Genter.

"At the budget they demonstrated they can't even keep their promise."

Transport Minister Simeon Brown said a new plan is being developed as part of the coalition agreement with Act.

"We're currently working through a new funding model around how we can maximise private sector investment in EV charging so we can grow those numbers."

More decisions on how that will work will be made later in the year.

"There is a role for Government to support, and so we want to make sure we're doing that in the right places and getting value for money for taxpayers," Brown added.

Since coming into power, the Government has scrapped the clean car discount and introduced road user charges for electric vehicle users.

Brown said chargers are the key to build New Zealand's EV fleet.

"I think the biggest barrier is making sure people who purchase those vehicles know they can charge them."

Trounson wants to see the money set aside for chargers put to use as soon as possible.

"Just get on and spend it."

Genter had even stronger words for the Government.

"This might end up being National's KiwiBuild. They've set a very ambitious target, but they're not putting in place the policies to support it or the funding."

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