Although he backed away slightly since Morrison's attack on electric vehicles at the last election was the very epitome of a backward thinking government.

Claiming “It’s not going to tow your trailer. It’s not going to tow your boat. It’s not going to get you out to your favourite camping spot with your family,” with his puerile sidekick Cash pledging to “stand by our tradies and … save their utes” from Bill Shorten.

But almost anyone keeping an eye on the progress in EVs knew the big revolution was going to be in EV work utes.

Recognising the future appeal of a work vehicle capable of powering and recharging tools on a worksite yet knowing Morrison was determined to actively campaign against the inevitable a mate of mine formed a company with a couple of others to start doing electric conversions on older 4WDs. Their strong chassis allowed for retrofitted electric motor battery installation. Orders went through the roof.

Other countries which weren't so determinedly backward have charged ahead. An article from Bloomberg shows us where this is headed.

The extended-range Lightning’s 131 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion pack boasts almost 10 times the capacity of a Tesla Powerwall, an $11,000 home backup battery that can’t be driven to the supermarket. The Lightning is “a mini powerplant for your home,” says Jason Glickman, executive vice president for engineering, planning and strategy at California utility PG&E Corp. “It can support the grid on a hot summer day, when we have demand spiking.”

"While electric vehicles are often referred to as batteries on wheels, the Lightning might be better described as a mobile power strip. The extended-range Lightning I test drove featured a 240-volt outlet in the truck bed that can power heavy-duty machinery from 9.6 kilowatts of carbon-free electricity generated onboard. There are also two 120-volt outlets in the cab, four in the bed and another four in the cavernous front trunk that Ford calls a “Mega Power Frunk.”"
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-05-31/how-the-ford-f-150-can-be-a-backup-home-generator

With a backlog of 200,000 vehicles already this is the future and we need to catch up and be a part of it

Good Morning Steele,

I admit that I don't understand all the pros and
cons of electric vehicles. Perhaps any new things
are going to come up with a certain amount of resistance
at first. You know the old adage - about denial in the
beginning and then acceptance in the end as if it was
always the case? Remember what migrants had to put up
with regarding their various food choices that were
so criticised and condemned by the local at first?

Dill pickles, sour cream, yogurt, were all thought to
be yuck! And today?

Solar panels were not acceptable by everyone at first.
People are still anti nuclear. But with time - things
do change as the technology is improved. If that wasn't
the case we'd still be travelling by horse and cart.
Still there are people who are terrified of flying
and prefer if possible to go by train.

I will never own an EV because of my age and the fact that the car I now have will see me out. But, the silliest thing to me is, that with the price of electricity sky-rocketing, and the increasing possibility of blackouts, the wide-eyed and gullible are barracking for more ways to use electricity.

Dear Foxy,

This is very much about missed opportunities because of our backward thinking former government.

One of the roles of government is to plan for future directions rather than dig their heads in the sand or even actively discourage innovation that will take advantage of that future.

Tradies are shelling out $60,000 to convert older 4WDs into these type of vehicles in small business enterprises. Just imagine if that sort of innovation had been supported by government and the job done on a far bigger scale.

We have the highest tradie ute ownership in the world and should have been leading this charge.

Dear Steele,

Of course you're right.

We've seen the election results for the former government
and the former PM. Their election campaign was targeted to
a 1950s Australia.

It will be interesting to see just how innovative our new
government will be - and in which areas.