Number of electric vehicles on Australian roads soars as demand exceeds supply

The number of electric vehicles on Australian roads is likely to race past 100,000 early this year, after almost doubling in 2022. The Electric Vehicle Council study released on Tuesday shows more than 83,000 electric cars were being driven in Australia and the number of charging stations had soared by 44 percent. Despite the progress, industry experts said Australia's electric vehicle adoption lagged behind the rest of the world and policy changes were urgently needed to get three million electric cars on the road by 2030.

The Greens have confirmed the party will back the Yes campaign in this year's referendum on an Indigenous Voice to Parliament. Just hours after senator Lidia Thorpe confirmed she would leave the party, the remaining Greens MPs and senators met to confirm their position on the issue. The party will support the Yes campaign and back government legislation required ahead of the referendum expected late this year. Greens leader Adam Bandt said they still believed the government should pursue a treaty before a Voice to Parliament but said opposing the referendum would be counter-productive. In relation to this news, a majority of Australians continue to support the Indigenous voice report The Guardian, with 65% of respondents supporting the change.

Residents of the Indonesian Pari island are suing Switzerland-based Holcim for its role in exacerbating climate change. According to the plaintiffs, the company's carbon emissions have contributed to a sea level rise around their homes. Cement production causes around eight percent of global emissions.

Number of electric vehicles on Australian roads soars as demand exceeds supply
The number of electric vehicles on Australian roads has almost doubled over the past year, growing from 44,000 at the beginning of 2022 to more than 83,000, according to research based on sales data released in the Electric Vehicle Council’s yearly recap. That figure is expected to top 100,000 in the coming months. Of the 83,000 in circulation, 79% are battery electric vehicles while 21% are plug-in hybrids. Electric vehicles accounted for 3.8% of all new vehicle sales in Australia in 2022, however, their market share varies dramatically by region. Market share was strongest in the Australian Capital Territory, with almost 10% of all new cars bought in 2022 being electric, up from 5% in 2021.

Greens resolve to back Yes campaign in Voice referendum
The Greens have confirmed the party will support the Yes campaign in this year's referendum on an Indigenous Voice to Parliament. Greens leader Adam Bandt said they still believed the government should pursue a treaty before a Voice to Parliament, but opposing the referendum would be counter-productive

Majority of Australians continue to support Indigenous voice
With 65% of respondents supporting the change, survey suggests Peter Dutton’s soft no campaign is failing to shift sentiment.

Indonesian Island sues major cement manufacturer
Residents of the Indonesian Pari island are suing Switzerland-based Holcim for its role in exacerbating climate change. According to the plaintiffs, the company's carbon emissions have contributed to a sea level rise around their homes. Cement production causes around eight percent of global emissions.

Aboriginal leaders tells government to use advisory bodies over new proposal
The government should listen to the more than 100 official Indigenous-specific “voices” it already has at its disposal rather than attempt to create a new one in the constitution, Aboriginal leader Warren Mundine has said. The comments come as the government’s push to guarantee Aboriginal consultation in the constitution hit new hurdles with anti-voice to parliament Senator Lidia Thorpe announcing she would leave the Greens to lead the “Blak Sovereign Movement.”

National marine oddity gets even stranger with discovery of tiny friend
Its tiny transparent body has a mouth and throat but no eyes. It has a penis and testes – these two dark spots its most visible feature – but it also has a vagina and ovary. How it chooses which to reproduce with is anyone’s guess. It clings to its host with its “haptor” for its entire lifespan, the length of which is also unknown. And because it can live on only its own host, it shares that host’s critically endangered status – acquired because of human activity before humans even knew it existed.

Tropical quoll subspecies 'nearing brink of extinction'
The northern spotted-tail quoll is close to becoming critically endangered, with fewer than 250 remaining in a handful of small and declining populations. Researchers from the James Cook and Sunshine Coast universities have set out to learn how many of the native marsupials are left in the wild.