Qld towns still waiting for public EV chargers years after promise

Electric vehicle drivers in regional Queensland are still facing a “charging desert”, with gaps of up to 600 kilometres between public chargers on major highways.
The Queensland government had plans for chargers in 24 locations by mid-2023, but the regional towns of Emerald, Rolleston, Injune and Roma are still waiting.
Andrew Borchardt lives in Sapphire, a small fossicking town in the Gemfields near Emerald, 900 kilometres from Brisbane.
The delay of a public charger in the Central Highlands forced Mr Borchardt to trade in his first electric vehicle for one with a longer range.
“My first one [electric vehicle] had a real-world range of about 350 kilometres and I bought that sort of thinking that would be fine because the plans were that fast chargers would be available,” Mr Borchardt said.
Mr Borchardt is frustrated the installation of public chargers in his region has been delayed. (ABC Capricornia: Vanessa Jarrett)
EVs sales increase
According to sales reports published by peak national industry body, the Electric Vehicle Council (EVC), almost one in 10 cars sold in 2024 were electric vehicles.
The EVC data shows 91,000 battery electric vehicles and 23,000 plug-in hybrid electric vehicles were sold in Australia in 2024, making up 9.65 per cent of all new car sales, compared to 8.45 per cent in 2023.
The Queensland government, through its company Yurika Energy, began rolling out public chargers in 2017 with sites in south-east Queensland and north Queensland.
Public chargers are those available on public land for anyone to stop and use.
The public charger at Dingo was broken for a month. (ABC Capricornia: Vanessa Jarrett)
They are typically fast chargers and provide up to 80 per cent charge for most vehicles in less than an hour.
PlugShare, an independent app used by most electric vehicle drivers worldwide, shows where public and private charging stations are located, charging type and allows users to comment and review.
In Emerald, which has a population of nearly 15,000, there are EV chargers listed on the app but these are private, located at motels, not public.
Typically, motel and private charging stations are for guests only and are a slower charge, sometimes overnight.
Charging deserts worry drivers
Mr Borchardt said people were weary about buying an EV due to delays in installing public chargers.
“I’m frustrated, they [public chargers] have been promised and promised but it seems like the can just keeps getting kicked down the road … particularly the Emerald one, it’s a major centre,” Mr Borchardt said.
When out and about in the region, his electric vehicle strikes attention, but Mr Borchardt said most people he has talked to, said they were hesitant to buy one due to a lack of charging infrastructure.
“Anecdotally the people I speak to, it is something that has stopped them from buying or leasing them,” he said.
Cody Dickenson charges his electric vehicle at home a few times a week overnight. (ABC Capricornia: Vanessa Jarrett)
Cody Dickenson works as a paramedic in Emerald and bought an electric vehicle last year.
He saw Emerald listed on the PlugShare app as an upcoming public charger location and didn’t expect it would still not be installed.
While he can charge at home, Mr Dickenson says it’s a slow charge and the lack of a faster, public charger has impacted the use of his electric vehicle.
“In the instances where I have to do a long trip, say to Rocky on short notice, or sometimes going to other stations for work, not being able to charge to a higher capacity in a short amount of time … it means that I am not able to go home or I am not able to go out and help in these other communities,” he said.
Malfunctions in existing stations
The Capricorn Highway runs inland from Rockhampton to Barcaldine in the west.
In the absence of a public charger at Emerald, there is a gap of 435 kilometres between stations, between Dingo and Barcaldine.
Mr Dickenson bought an electric vehicle a year ago, persuaded by the government incentives. (ABC Capricornia: Vanessa Jarrett)
For Mr Dickenson in Emerald, it’s just a bit too far between chargers for his comfort.
“I haven’t even gone out that way because I am worried about charging,” he said.
The public electric vehicle station at Dingo, 150km west of Rockhampton in Central Queensland. (ABC Capricornia: Vanessa Jarrett)
Drivers reported the Dingo charger was broken for a number of weeks in late 2024, meaning the next charger was at Rockhampton, widening the gap to almost 600 kilometres, a distance that most EV drivers wouldn’t attempt to test.
Electric Vehicle Council chief policy officer Cameron Rimington said a key factor in the public chargers was that they need to be dependable.
“If there is going to be fewer of them in the regions at this stage of the transition, we need to make sure that there’s a lot of uptime [servicing] on those and that they’re really reliable,” he said.
Site approvals, technical resources behind delays
While most of the announced public locations are operational, four sites have been continually delayed past their original promised completion of mid-2023.
In the latest update in November 2024, Injune in the Maranoa region is projected to be turned on in February, and Emerald and Rolleston in the Central Highlands in April.
Traffic on the Gregory Highway leaving Emerald. (ABC Capricornia: Vanessa Jarrett)
A Roma site was due to be turned on in December 2024. It has been installed but is not operational.
Yurika general manager of assets and operations Sam Bush said the delays were partly due to difficulties identifying and gaining approval for suitable sites.
He said negotiations with local councils, the Department of Transport and Main Roads and network upgrade approvals for connections via the Ergon Energy Network have also proved a challenge.
“A lack of availability of the required technical resources has also pushed out connection timeframes,” Mr Bush said.