MEDIA RELEASE - 12 APRIL 2011

With petrol prices heading towards $2 per litre, the race continues to find alternatives to fossil fuel based transportation. In September 2010, Parramatta City Council began dialogue with electric vehicle infrastructure providers in anticipation of the broader Australian take-up of electric vehicles.

“From a government perspective, where and how do we re-charge these electric vehicles? How will our homes and workplaces be built or retrofitted to be electric car ready? How and where will we re-charge them while on the road?” asked Clr Chiang Lim.

With the Council’s agreement on 11 April 2011, trials are now being considered in order to learn about the placements of high voltage recharge stations in the city and suburbs, the logistics of recharging in public and private spaces, the costs of such trials, as well as what planning and environmental standards are needed to allow certain kinds of smart recharge equipment and not others.

“Governments are notorious of being slow, especially when compared against business and technology. Parramatta City Council itself took 10 years to update its rezoning plans. Yet to address the advent of electric vehicles and electric vehicle infrastructure, we only have 12 months, 2 years at most,” said Clr Lim.

Possible trials will now be called for from electric vehicle vendors and electric vehicle infrastructure providers. Australian companies including EnergyAustralia, Integral Energy, the Holden Commodore electric project and Australia’s first domestic electric vehicle Blade will also be approached. And the possibility of collaboration with Parramatta’s Auto Alley is not out of the question. Even Google has also begun providing mapping information of the locations of re-charge stations.

Equally as important is how emergency response crews must learn how to deal with accidents involving electric vehicle and electric vehicle infrastructure. “This is where all governments must also learn quickly and adapt accordingly. And rather than spending taxpayer monies just to see how nice the ride is in electric vehicles, the City of Parramatta is charging ahead with a holistic approach in working through what will be the future in the very near future,” said Clr Lim.

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For any further information, please contact Clr Chiang Lim,
Parramatta City Council on 0427 277 299 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it