The Government has announced it will delay the introduction of the ‘Cash for Clunkers’ scheme (officially called The Cleaner Car Rebate) by six months, to June 2011.<\/p>\n
We’re not surprised and indicated our doubts when the Gillard Government was narrowly re-elected and we dealt with this issue in some detail.<\/p>\n
In fact the scheme has come in for substantial criticism since Prime Minister Gillard announced it as a vote winning carrot last July. She promised a $2000 rebate for people who update their pre 1995 car by purchasing a new, lower emission, fuel efficient vehicle. $400m was to be set aside, and this was expected to get 200,000 old cars off the road.<\/p>\n
However it has been heavily criticised because: only three local cars would qualify (the rest would be imports): it is very expensive for the benefits it delivers:it simply brings forward intended purchases, and it could be subjected to huge rorts ( as demonstrated in the Obama Cash For Clunkers effort in the USA).<\/p>\n
After the aptly named Federal Industry Minister Kim Carr announced the delay Opposition Leader Tony Abbott entered the debate labelling the scheme ” a thought bubble” and said that if the Government is looking to save money ‘cash for clunkers’ should be the first to go.<\/p>\n