TECH TORQUE

GREEN HORIZON

- FRASER STRONACH

THE recent election of the Federal Labor government will have, no doubt, had the local car-industry executives sit up and take notice. Not because Labor won but the manner in which they did.

Fact is, Labor didn't so much as win as the Liberal-National Coalition lost, and Labor got home off a huge swing in public concern about the environment and climate change. So strong was this shift in public sentiment that the Greens increased its presence in the House of Representatives by 300 per cent (going from one seat to four seats), the LNP lost a swathe of their most loyal heartland seats to green-leaning independent candidates (the so-called Teals) and Labor picked up seats off the back of Green and greenleaning independent preferences. So strong was this green tide that Labor even dropped in its primary vote percentage.

So why does all this matter to car company suits?