It will also consider the ongoing management of the facilities, including financial and operational benefits and impacts for the council, and seek funding from state and federal governments.
Deputy Mayor Suman Saha led the call for the policy and said there were only 78 registered electric vehicles in 2020 but now there are almost 600 – “and that number is only going to grow significantly”.
“There is no doubt we need more EV charging stations to make sure our city is fit for the future,” the Deputy Mayor said.
“We are not the first, but we don’t want to be the last.”
He said the council had also been receiving requests from private operators wanting to lease car spaces to put in charging stations, but it must ensure that public parking spaces won’t be lost.
Cr Ola Hamed said a wholistic approach was needed, including for private operators, to “meet our changing needs” and “reduce transport based emissions”.
“We know that the availability of EV charging infrastructure was the most important driver for increasing the uptake of cheaper, greener EVs, reducing our reliance on imported petrol and diesel,” she said.
Cr Glenn Elmore suggested the stations be located where “there’s a cafe or something to do while the car is being charged” which can take between 20-60 minutes, while a suggestion by Cr Helen Hughes for solar-powered stations, was rejected.
Electric vehicle charging is also being considered as part of the council’s Draft Smart Places Strategy and Action Plan.
