The National Electric Vehicle Strategy with The Hon. Chris Bowen MP, Minister for Climate Change and Energy
ACCI had the pleasure of hosting the Hon. Chris Bowen MP, Minister for Climate Change and Energy after launching Australia’s first National Electric Vehicle Strategy. The Minister this week announced a new fuel efficiency standard – a first for Australia – and funding for EV charging. Australia is on its way to a more sustainable future.
Tuesday’s event was held at the Sydney Motorsport Park, Eastern Creek, in western Sydney. Guests also heard from our panel, Geoff Gwilym, CEO, Victorian Automotive Chamber of Commerce; Vivian Miles, Chief Strategy Officer, NRMA; James Voortman, CEO, Australian Automotive Dealer Association and Sid Rallapalli, Head of Global Partnerships, Nexport, representing both the consumer and the transport sector in how these groups are currently impacted and would benefit from a transition to electric vehicles. The floor was opened to questions and discussion primarily focused on the issues Australians are facing with regard to acquiring new electric vehicles and keeping them charged. These issues stem from the problems within the supply chain, current demand, our geography, Australia being a net importer depending almost entirely on one foreign market, and the de-prioritization of right-hand drive vehicles in the global market.
ACCI thanks Minister Bowen for his time, our panel of speakers and our sponsor, Australian Racing Drivers Club as well as Nexport and NRMA for making their EVs available for the event.c
More photos from the day’s events can be viewed here.
Date
Wednesday, 19 April 2023
Time
12.30 pm - 2.30 pm
Location
Sydney Motorsports Park, Ferrers Rd, Eastern Creek NSW 2766
Dress
Business attire
Speaker Bios
The Hon. Chris Bowen MP, Minister for Climate Change and Energy
Chris grew up in Smithfield in Western Sydney, attending Smithfield Public School and St Johns Park High School. He graduated from the University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Economics. He has also a Master’s Degree in International Relations and a Diploma in Modern Languages (Bahasa Indonesia).
He joined the Labor Party in 1988 and was elected to Fairfield Council in 1995, serving as Mayor of Fairfield for 1998 and 1999. He also served as President of the Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils from 2000 to 2002.
Chris entered Parliament in 2004 and has held a wide range of portfolios including serving as Treasurer, Minister for Human Services, Minister for Immigration, and Minister for Small Business.
He is currently the Minister for Climate Change and Energy.
Geoff Gwilym. CEO, Victorian Automotive Chamber of Commerce
Geoff Gwilym has been Chief Executive Officer, Victorian Automotive Chamber of Commerce (VACC) since 2014 and brings with him a long history and expertise in the automotive industry. VACC is an organisation with a $40 million turnover, 100 direct staff and 530 apprentices in its Group Apprenticeship Scheme.
Geoff’s career in the automotive industry began as an apprentice Body Making Technician in the UK in 1976. Having completed his apprenticeship and spending time in the industry in the UK, including as a coachbuilder in the British Railways, Geoff moved to Australia in 1985.
Geoff went on to work in industry associations and in the leading of two national industry standards bodies in Australia, Transport and Logistics and Automotive.
Geoff has a passion and a deep focus on industry policy and the setting of national training standards for automotive apprentices in Australia.
Behyad Jafari, CEO, Electric Vehicle Council
As the CEO of the Electric Vehicle Council, Behyad works with industry, government and the media to accelerate the electrification of road transport, for a more sustainable and prosperous Australia. With experience advising investors, businesses and governments, Behyad has a strong understanding of Australia’s political, corporate and media landscape.
Vivian Miles, Chief Strategy Officer, NRMA
Vivian is the Chief Strategy Officer at The NRMA. She is responsible for corporate & portfolio strategy, ESG, policy, legal, brand, content and corporate affairs functions. She sets the strategic direction of the NRMA group and pursues opportunities that delivers shared value – member value, economic value and societal value. She is passionate about electrification and accelerating the clean energy and EV transition.
Vivian has extensive experience in strategy consulting in Australia, the United States, New Zealand, China and South East Asia. In her previous role with Booz & Company / PwC Strategy&, she advised organisations on growth strategy, portfolio strategy, operating model design, organisation and culture transformation. Prior to this, she worked at Deutsche Bank investment banking, and in carbon markets with GreenCollar.
James Voortman, CEO, Australian Automotive Dealer Association
James has been in his role as CEO for just over 2 years and with the Australian Automotive Dealer Association (AADA) since 2017.
He has extensive policy and automotive advocacy experience and has worked as an advisor to a Federal Minister as well as in several senior policy roles within a range of industry associations.
