Thanks to years of political inaction, Australia is one of the few countries in the world not to have a New Vehicle Efficiency Standard. The European Union, New Zealand and China have one. Even the United States has a standard, which means new cars in Australia use 20 per cent more fuel and create 20 per cent more pollution than their American counterparts. With the Albanese Government about to introduce legislation to correct this situation, the Coalition is busily dusting off the 'war on utes/the weekend' rhetoric.

Police say investigations are underway after a pedestrian was hit by a car in Byron Bay yesterday.

Why buy a hybrid? Economy. At each level in the Corolla range, there is a hybrid version costing only $1,500 more than the petrol-only version.