Electric vehicles are built different. Australia needs better data to get the most out of the shift

by bpckle | Jul 20, 2026 | In the Media

In 2019, China was a minor player in Australia’s car market. Seven years later, it’s now the biggest supplier of new vehicles overall – including about 80% of Australia’s electric vehicles (EVs). The shift to EVs has accelerated markedly this year amid oil price spikes.

This is good news for Australia’s energy security and efforts to tackle climate change. But to get the most out of electric cars, vans and trucks from China, Australian authorities need better data on how they are designed.

Better data will integrate growing EV numbers in ways that help the Australian economy, not just carmakers.

Decades in the making

It took sustained state investment and planning to turn China’s carmakers from minnows into giants, as part of wider investment in clean technology.

China’s electric vehicle industry has become the global benchmark for mass?produced affordable EVs and, increasingly, for trucks and buses.

Australia’s car market is one of the most competitive in the world – and becoming even more so. For Australian buyers, China’s surging EV production translates to rapidly increasing numbers of competitively priced EVs from brands not even on the radar ten years ago.

As a result, Australia’s EV transition is taking off. Battery electric, plug-in hybrid and hybrid vehicles now make up close to half of new sales. Chinese-made hybrid tractors and electric heavy trucks for road freight and mines are now appearing.

While new vehicles often resemble traditional combustion vehicles, they are far smarter than those that came before – and Australia needs to actively adapt.

Why do we need better data on EVs?

Planning for this shift is essential. But there’s a key problem – authorities often don’t have the data to inform their plans.

When Australia had its own car industry, authorities kept detailed data on the vehicle fleet. But after the last factory fell quiet almost ten years ago, authorities stopped gathering as much data. The Australian Bureau of Statistics stopped its long-running Motor Vehicle Census in 2021.

The best fleet snapshot we now have is the Road Vehicles Australia report from the Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics. This is less detailed than the previous census, meaning we lack consistent data on where electric vehicles are and how they’re used.

While industry data shows most of Australia’s EVs are built in China, Australia’s automotive peak body, the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, only reports data on member vehicle sales. Tesla cars sold in Australia are made in China, but these sales are not recorded by the peak body as Tesla is not a member.

The lack of data matters for four reasons.

1. Different design standards.

Chinese vehicles are often designed to world-leading standards, which include tighter energy efficiency rules and stronger requirements for safety, battery recycling and circular use of materials. Top carmakers rely heavily on robots to increase manufacturing precision.

If we want these new vehicles to deliver the best results, Australia needs to ensure regulators and planners are able to take full advantage of these improvements.

For instance, the car repair and car recycling industries need detailed data about the types of batteries and other technologies used in EVs. Similarly, emergency services need to understand any potentially different risks when they respond to car accidents. While EVs catch fire much less often than combustion?engine cars, battery fires behave differently to petrol fires and must be managed appropriately.

2. Consequences for planners.

EVs aren’t like traditional vehicles. They’re very large batteries on wheels, with uses well beyond transport. Many new EVs can feed power back to the grid, meaning they could be a major future source of flexibility and balance in the power system – if authorities plan for it.

Data is key. Authorities need to know not just how many EVs are on Australian roads, but their rough location, how they connect to the grid and whether their owners want to sell power back to the grid.

3. Moving faster.

It would make sense to design power grids and charging networks to match the vehicles most likely to arrive.

Doing so will let us shift to clean transport sooner and cut fuel costs for households and businesses, agriculture and miners. This will boost energy independence and reduce reliance on imported oil.

4. Managing risks.

Some commentators worry that Chinese EVs could pose a risk to national security. But the issue is broader, as all modern vehicles rely on software and data links. Concerns around data and privacy apply across the board.

Better, independent data on which vehicles are in our fleet, what standards they use and how vehicle data and security systems operate would help authorities manage these risks sensibly.

We don’t know what we don’t know

Australia’s rapid shift to electric vehicles is a boon for the climate and welcome from a cost and energy security perspective.

But making the most from this shift requires good planning — and good data.

Bringing back the Motor Vehicle Census seems sensible, though it’s too late to include this in next month’s national census. Collecting this data will let planners see how the EV rollout is unfolding and how it intersects with income, housing, rooftop solar and areas of disadvantage.

Without it, we risk pushing ahead without benefiting fully from these new technologies.

Ray Wills is the managing director of consultancy Future Smart Strategies, which is involved in sustainability work.

Peter Newman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Building dams to protect Lismore from flooding would cost billions. Could nature do it better?

by bpckle | Jul 20, 2026 | In the Media

The unprecedented flooding in New South Wales in 2022 killed 13 people across the state, left 4,000 properties uninhabitable and damaged a further 10,900 homes. Lismore was especially hard hit due to its location on the Wilson River floodplain.

In response, Australia’s national science agency CSIRO has developed a high-resolution computer model to support flood mitigation research. In a recent report, the agency outlined how building ten large “detention” dams – could reduce flooding in the Richmond and Wilson River valleys.

Governments have committed several million dollars to a detailed study that will look at the economic, environmental and structural aspects of the proposed dams.

However, there are many reasons authorities should be cautious before committing financial and political resources to these schemes.

How would it work?

The modelled dams would hold water in upstream creeks during flooding, reducing flood heights in Lismore by about two metres and providing smaller benefits to several other towns.

These dams would only partially reduce damage from future floods on the scale of 2022. If built, Australians would have to pay for the costs of the dams – likely billions of dollars – plus future flood damage.

Major cost blowouts are typical of large water engineering projects in Australia and around the world. A 2019 Australian study found pre-construction estimates are systematically biased on the low side. Using dams for flood protection can also face significant operational and legal challenges.

Other options deserve more detailed investigation. The Australian National University, Richmond Landcare Network and Southern Cross University are investigating “nature-based” solutions. These can mitigate future floods by retaining water upstream, reducing the extent of flooding and enhancing habitat and water quality.

Revegetation and ‘softer’ river engineering

ANU research suggests revegetation of the upper slopes of hills, wetlands and riparian zones – the area between land and waterways – lower flood heights and reduce their impacts. Small upstream floodplains known as “pinch points” may have the similar effects. Strategic revegetation works by detaining water upstream.

These approaches aim to work with nature rather than against it. With increasing international evidence that they work, they deserve more research to determine their effectiveness in specific catchments in Australia.

This kind of revegetation is already underway in the region, and could be combined with “softer” river engineering.

What about channels or levees?

One option worth further investigation is a diversion channel to shift floodwaters around Lismore. This would require re-engineering the Wilson River floodplain west of its current course and constructing levees from excavated material.

The diversion channel was first proposed by the Italian businessman, Floriano Volpato, a café proprietor, community leader and founder of Lismore’s Continental Club. After the damaging 1974 floods, he paid two Italian flood engineers from the Po Valley to visit and design a flood mitigation scheme.

The diversion channel proposal was rejected by the council in 1981. Instead, a levee able to protect against a one-in-ten-year flood was built around the central business district. Since being completed in 2005, the three larger floods have exceeded the levee design height of 10.6 metres.

Levees can and do work. They’re successfully used around the world, including in major rivers such as the Rhine. About 100 kilometres south of Lismore, the Grafton levee has protected the city from Clarence River floods for decades.

There are concerns over a “levee paradox” – levees leading to community complacency about flood risks. However, many well designed, well built and maintained
levees have successfully restrained floods, stopping major damage and disruption.

Transformation of the Northern Rivers

In anticipation of future flooding, Australia could combine traditional structural and flood mitigation measures, such as dams and levees, with nature-inspired designs.

It is important people do not lose faith in our collective capacity to plan and prepare for future damaging floods. CSIRO’s state-of-the-art hydrodynamic model is an impressive piece of scientific infrastructure that can underpin future flood planning.

Strategic revegetation and a re-engineered Wilson River floodplain could make Lismore Australia’s first “sponge city”, where natural and engineered systems absorb rainfall and prevent flooding.

This would demonstrate Australia is serious about climate adaptation and disaster resilience in ways that build social harmony.

Jason Alexandra receives funding from Natural Hazard Research Australia to investigate how conserving and restroing floodplains can be useful for nature-based flood mitigation

NZ parties want to make rooftop solar more affordable. We found cost isn’t everything

by bpckle | Jul 20, 2026 | In the Media

Rooftop solar has emerged as one of the more unexpected policy contests of New Zealand’s election campaign.

National has proposed low-interest, rates-based loans for solar panels, batteries and other home electrification upgrades, while Labour has floated similar finance alongside subsidies of up to $3,000 and support for renters to install plug-in solar.

The pledges follow recent government initiatives to make residential solar easier to install, as well as new electricity rules enabling more households to export surplus electricity back to local networks.

But are these measures, while important steps, enough to drive solar uptake at scale?

Our new research, which surveyed professionals across New Zealand’s building and energy sectors, suggests cost is only one piece in the puzzle.

We found households also weigh expected long-term returns, electricity market settings, whether their home is designed for solar, and whether government policy stays stable.

When support doesn’t equal uptake

We looked at rooftop solar power within the Passive House framework – an international standard for building ultra-low-energy homes and offices. Because these buildings already use so little energy, they help us clearly see what encourages or gets in the way of adding solar panels.

During our interviews, one message came through clearly: there’s now no doubt rooftop solar has a place in New Zealand’s energy future.

New Zealand’s installed rooftop solar capacity reached 573 megawatts by the end of 2024. Passive House Plus and Premium homes – which generate some or all of the energy they use through on-site renewable energy, such as solar – are also gradually becoming more common around the country.

We heard strong agreement among professionals that rooftop solar can lower household electricity costs, improve energy independence and ultimately support the country’s low-carbon transition.

So why aren’t these recognised benefits translating into widespread adoption?

Much of the discussion is focused on making solar panels more affordable. This is certainly important. Falling costs have brought rooftop solar within reach of more households.

But our research suggests affordability is only part of the equation. The professionals we surveyed saw households as making investment decisions rather than technology decisions.

They weigh upfront costs against expected long-term returns, electricity savings, export payments and future policy settings. That explains why budget constraints emerged as the biggest barrier in our survey.

Those we spoke with also ranked low payments for electricity exported back to the grid and limited financial incentives among the most important obstacles. As one interview participant put it, rooftop solar is often “the first thing cut” when construction budgets become tight.

Such findings help explain the growing political focus on green loans, subsidies and other financial incentives.

Solar starts with good design

Perhaps the most overlooked take-away from our research is that rooftop solar is not simply an energy decision, but a building design decision.

We heard that the best opportunity to support rooftop solar comes during the earliest stages of designing a home. Roof orientation, structural capacity, electrical infrastructure and future battery integration are all easier and less expensive to plan before construction begins than to retrofit later.

Our survey data underscored this message. Optimised solar design, battery integration and government incentives were ranked as the most effective strategies for increasing adoption.

As well, our findings suggest that improving finance alone will not unlock widespread uptake.

Households also need homes designed for solar from the outset, supportive electricity market settings that reward renewable generation and policy certainty that gives them confidence to invest.

Current government initiatives and policy proposals suggest New Zealand is moving in the right direction. They recognise that affordability and access are vital.

But our findings suggest the next challenge is building confidence rather than simply reducing costs.

People need confidence that rooftop solar will deliver long-term value, that they will be fairly rewarded for the electricity they generate and that their homes are designed to make the most of the investment.

New Zealand already has the technology – and abundant sunshine. Public support is growing and policymakers increasingly recognise the role rooftop solar can play in a cleaner and more resilient energy system.

The next step is ensuring finance, electricity market settings, building design and policy work together.

Only then is rooftop solar likely to become the obvious choice for more New Zealand households, rather than one of the first features to disappear when budgets become tight.

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.