Australians get $2000 to buy new cars

Photo / Herald on Sunday

The Australian Government will give A$2000 ($2400) to anyone who updates their old car, Prime Minister Julia Gillard has announced.

From January next year anyone who trades in a car manufactured before 1995 for one that meets emissions standards will receive a $2000 rebate from the Government.

"Australians own a lot of old motor cars, and those old cars guzzle a lot of petrol and they spew out a lot of pollution," Gillard said in the marginal Labor-held electorate of Forde, south of Brisbane.

"I want to help Australians to update their motor vehicles," she said, noting that the old cars would be turned into scrap metal.

The rebate will be on offer for 200,000 new vehicles, costing the Government A$394 million over the forward estimates. It will redirect funds to pay for the scheme.

Gillard also announced mandatory fuel efficiency standards for all new cars from 2015.

It adds to Labor's climate change policy, outlined on Friday.