Labor will cut EV taxes and try to legislate 2030 emissions target, Chris Bowen says

Chris Bowen says calls from the Greens and teal independents for Labor to raise their emissions reduction targets were ‘odd’. Photograph: Nikki Short/AAP

Australia’s new climate minister has vowed to quickly cut taxes on electric vehicles and meet with state counterparts to address a “real vacuum of national leadership” on energy, but says new climate legislation will be limited.

Speaking before being sworn in on Wednesday as the climate change and energy minister, Chris Bowen said the Albanese government would introduce a climate bill that included its emissions reduction targets – including a 43% cut by 2030 compared with 2005 levels – because enshrining them in law was “best practice”.