Newcastle's lord mayor has lashed the state government for the city being excluded from a grant program for electric vehicle chargers.
The NSW Government announced $20 million in EV Charging Destination Grants to roll out up to 3500 electric vehicle chargers at tourist and small business visitor economy destinations.
A range of destinations in regional NSW can apply for the grants, including motels, wineries, cafes, restaurants, natural attractions, visitor information centres, museums and zoos. But none of those sorts of businesses in Newcastle are eligible.
Lord mayor Nuatali Nelmes said the reason Newcastle will miss out on the program again comes down to the city's classification.
Lake Macquarie, Port Stephens, Maitland and Cessnock are eligible, as they are classed as regional, but Newcastle is considered metropolitan.
"It just goes to the regional-metro dichotomy in grant funding that Newcastle is often left out of the regional funding pool, included in the metro funding pool but often excluded just by the tyranny of distance from metropolitan Sydney," she said.
The classification issue has also reared its head in other grant programs such as the Regional Sport Infrastructure Fund, but Cr Nelmes said this was particularly disappointing as it means popular destinations like Blackbutt Reserve, Fort Scratchley or Newcastle Museum miss out.
"It's a shame. We've done a lot of work in the electric vehicle charging space and it would have been a good opportunity to consolidate that work," she said.
"Research shows one of the inhibitors to purchasing is range anxiety.
"But we'll keep on pushing ahead and make sure we have a good supply of electric vehicle charging stations."
