‘‘Malevolent:’ Barnaby’s call on Chinese EVs

Coalition firebrand Barnaby Joyce says Australia should follow the US and consider banning Chinese-made electric vehicles due to safety and privacy fears, questioning whether they could be weaponised for a “malevolent purpose”.

Both Labor and the Coalition have ruled out a ban, which the US is considering out of fears the technology in these cars posed risks to national security and privacy.

Mr Joyce said Australia should exercise caution after Israel secretly embedded explosives in hundreds of pagers carried by Hezbollah members, before detonating them wireless devices and killing 12 people and injuring thousands.

“After the pager issue … the penny dropped for so many people that there is a capacity remotely to create massive pain, massive hurt, maybe at the least to create complete breakdown and chaos,” he told Sky News Sunday Agenda.

“People have got to start asking the questions like ‘if you can update the software, if you can track these vehicles, if they’re made in China, if there’s a malevolent purpose behind it from a totalitarian state, what might be the consequences of that?’”

He also said the government should reconsider allowing households to use Chinese-made solar rooftop panels, stoking fears the inverters could be weaponised to cause rolling blackouts.

“Also, I might add, there are 200,000 Chinese made solar heaters sitting on roofs around Sydney, Brisbane and the rest of the countryside and we’ve had people who are expert in that field saying ‘you should have a closer look at what you’ve done there’.

“God forbid there was ever a war, it would start online and in space and within those two things you can create complete and utter chaos.”

More than 80 per cent of electric vehicles sold in Australia are manufactured in China, including popular Chinese-owned brands BYD, MG and Geely. Tesla, which is owned by US billionaire Elon Musk is also manufactured in China.

Earlier this week, US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said the US would move to ban the electric vehicles out of fears the technology in these cars, including internet-operated cameras, microphones and GPS tracking, posed risks to national security and privacy.

“It doesn’t take much imagination to understand how a foreign adversary with access to this information could pose a serious risk to both our national security and the privacy of citizens,” she said in a statement.

“In an extreme situation, foreign adversaries could shut down or take control of all their vehicles operating in the United States all at the same time.”

However, both Labor and the Coalition have ruled out follow the United States with a similar ban.

Energy Minister Chris Bowen said he wanted Australians to have the “maximum range of choice as to what vehicles”.

“We won’t be banning vehicles made in any particular country. We’ll continue to work with all the relevant agencies to ensure that all are necessary arrangements in place but I want Australians have more choice of vehicles to buy, not less, more choice,” he said last week.

The impact and escalation of cyber threats in the energy sector has been noted by Mr Bowen and state energy ministers, with minister receiving briefings from Commonwealth officials on the threat environment and support planning measures to increase Australia’s resilience against potential threats.

On Sunday, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Australia would continue discussions with the US, and “take advice from our security agencies”.

Nationals senator and Opposition spokeswoman for transport and infrastructure Bridget McKenzie also said a ban was not Coalition policy.