Driverless cars get $10m federal boost

Tom McIlroy
October 4 2018
AFR
A new federal government authority will manage the uptake of driverless vehicles, which is expected to be worth $16 billion to the economy by 2025.
Deputy Prime Minister Minister Michael McCormack will announce the creation of a new national office for future transport technologies on Thursday, ahead of the arrival of automated vehicles and other technological developments in the next decade.
The authority will take responsibility for the federal government’s actions in the area, will coordinate more closely with state and territory road and licensing authorities and ensure new technologies can be introduced safely and responsibly.
Mr McCormack, the Nationals leader and Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Minister, said the development and uptake of automated vehicle technologies and associated applications would also be managed to improve transport and road safety outcomes.
He will tell Roads Australia conference in Sydney that automated vehicles are on the verge of becoming commercially available, handing governments both the challenges and opportunities for an evolving transport landscape.
The Coalition wants regulation for new types of transport to be nationally consistent, to fit with United Nations regulatory developments and be compatible with related Commonwealth policies and laws.
Mr McCormack said the right policy, regulation and infrastructure was needed, including on privacy and data use.
“Getting Australians home sooner and safer is a core focus of our government and the emergence of automated vehicles represents a significant opportunity to realise safety and productivity benefits while supporting Australian industry and innovation,” he said.
“The Australian future transport and mobility industry is expected generate more than $16 billion in revenue by 2025.
“While representing an emerging business opportunity for the national economy, these technologies also have great potential to reduce the $27 billion cost of road crashes in Australia each year.”
The government will spend $9.7 million to establish the new office.
“These advances can also help to reduce the significant social impacts that road deaths and injuries have on families and the wider community,” Mr McCormack said.
“I expect the office to collaborate across governments to ensure automated vehicles are safe, to consider future infrastructure needs, to make sure cyber security safeguards are in place, and to support Australian businesses in taking advantage of new commercial opportunities.”
Australia’s natural environment will present unique problems for driverless car technology, including from kangaroos and other unpredictable native wildlife.
The National Transport Commission is already evaluating how driving laws should be changed to accommodate driverless vehicles in the future.
Honda Motors said this week it will invest $US2.75 billion ($3.9 billion) and take a 5.7 per cent stake in General Motors’s Cruise self-driving vehicle unit, to jointly develop autonomous vehicles for deployment in ride services fleets around the world.
Holden and Melbourne’s RMIT University have launched Australia’s first online course on self-driving cars.
Backed by the carmaker and Silicon Valley-based education provider Udacity, the course is designed to introduce students to the programming requirements in autonomous vehicles.
Holden recently announced it would recruit 150 additional engineers for its advanced vehicle department.