Barnaby Joyce said on Sunday Australia should follow the US and consider banning Chinese-made electric vehicles over security and privacy fears, questioning whether they could be weaponized for a “malicious purpose”.
Both Labor and the Coalition have ruled out a ban, which the US is considering amid fears the technology in these cars would pose risks to national security and privacy.
But Nationals MP Joyce said Australia must be careful after Israel secretly built explosives into hundreds of pagers carried by Hezbollah members before detonating the wireless devices, killing 12 people and injuring thousands .
“After the pager issue … the penny dropped for so many people that there is a remote ability to cause enormous pain, enormous pain, perhaps at the very least to create complete collapse and chaos,” he told Sky News Sunday Agenda .
“People need to start asking questions, like can you update the software, can you track these vehicles, are they made in China, is there a malicious purpose behind them from a totalitarian state, what could be the consequences of that?”
He also said the government should reconsider allowing households to use Chinese-made rooftop solar panels, fueling fears that the inverters could be weaponized to cause rolling power outages.
‘I might also add that there are 200,000 Chinese-made solar water heaters on the roofs around Sydney, Brisbane and the rest of the country, and we’ve had people who are experts in that field saying, ‘You need to take a closer look to what you do’. did there.”
“God forbid there should ever be a war, it would start online and in space and within those two things you can create complete chaos,” the Shadow Secretary of State for Veterans Affairs said.
Barnaby Joyce (pictured) said Chinese-made electric vehicles could be weaponized for a ‘malicious purpose’
More than 80 percent of electric vehicles sold in Australia are manufactured in China, including popular Chinese brands BYD, MG and Geely.
Tesla, owned by American billionaire Elon Musk, is also produced in China.
Earlier this week, US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said the US would move to ban electric vehicles amid fears that the technology in these cars, including internet-enabled cameras, microphones and GPS tracking, would pose 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 an extreme situation, foreign adversaries could disable or take control of all their vehicles in the United States at the same time.”
However, both Labor and the Coalition have ruled out a ban.
Energy Minister Chris Bowen said he wanted Australians to have the “maximum range of choice” of cars.
More than 80 percent of electric vehicles sold in Australia are produced in China, including popular Chinese brands BYD, MG and Geely
“We will not ban vehicles made in a particular country. We will continue to work with all relevant agencies to ensure all necessary arrangements are in place, but I want Australians to have more choice of vehicles to buy, not less, more choice,” he said.
The impact and escalation of cyber threats in the energy sector have been noted by Mr Bowen and the Ministers of State for Energy, with ministers receiving briefings from officials.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Sunday that Australia would continue talks with the US and “seek advice from our security services”.
National senator and opposition spokeswoman for transport and infrastructure Bridget McKenzie also said a ban was not coalition policy.