Industry and the broader community are being asked to comment on new regulations that would cut emissions from all new cars, 4WDs and Utes sold in Australia by as much as 90 per cent.

The more stringent mandatory emission standards being put forward by the Rudd Labor Government target the pollutants responsible for the formation of smog over our major cities and health problems within our population.

Compared to the current regulatory regime, the proposed new standards - Euro 5 (from 2012) and Euro 6 (from 2016) - would cut a new vehicle's maximum emissions of:

• Hydrocarbon by up to 50 per cent;


• Oxides of nitrogen by up to 70 per cent; and


• Particulate matter by up to 90 per cent.

Over time the new standards would lead to cleaner skies and healthier air quality.

Euro 5 and Euro 6 standards have already been adopted by the European Union. The draft regulation impact statement (RIS) I'm releasing today lays out the costs and benefits of Australia following suit.

While the draft RIS recommends their adoption, I would encourage all interested parties to provide their comments prior to the Government making a final decision.

The draft RIS is available at: www.infrastructure.gov.au/roads/environment/index.aspx, with public submissions due by 1 March 2010.

While the air quality in our major cities has improved significantly in recent years, the growth in the number of vehicles means we must continually monitor our standards and where possible deploy new, more effective technologies.

For example, Sydney still records as many as 25 high pollution days a year.

Australia's mandatory vehicle emission standards together with stringent fuel quality standards are widely recognised as the most cost-effective way of improving urban air quality. Both have been progressively tightened over the past 30 years.

New regulations designed to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from new vehicles will be the subject of a separate RIS due for release in early 2010.