Fuel excise halved as Albanese takes action on energy crisis
The federal government will halve the fuel excise and pause road user charges for trucks for three months, the Prime Minsiter said following a National Cabinet meeting today.
The federal government will halve the fuel excise and pause road user charges for trucks for three months, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said following a National Cabinet meeting today.
The measures are expected to reduce the cost of fuel by 26.3 cents per litre and will cost the federal budget $2.55 billion, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said.
When asked about the impact it would have on the federal budget, Chalmers said there was “a lot of decision-making still to come” on the final budget position.
“We wouldn’t ordinarily be finished with it [the budget] in the last week of March, but especially when we’ve got more than the usual amount of global economic uncertainty and volatility that we are dealing with,” he said.
The federal budget will be finalised by the second week of May.
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Chalmers said the individual states would work through the mechanisms of GST relief, and state-based announcements would come “in due course”.
The news came as Albanese announced National Cabinet had today agreed to “the National Fuel Security Plan to coordinate a consistent response” across the country.
It is a four-stage plan that dictates roles and responsibilities between governments and industry partners.
Albanese said the country is currently at level two, “keeping Australia moving”, having transitioned through the “plan and prepare” stage.
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He said Australians should not cancel their travel plans for the Easter long weekend, which is an important part of “keeping Australia moving”.
“People should enjoy their Easter, and it’s important as well that we keep the economy going. This is an important time for tourism destinations, for jobs. They rely upon that,” he said.
He said the supports were specific to truckers and Australians who “unavoidably” had to travel long distances.
“For many trucking companies that are small, they rely upon a cash flow which is under pressure, because they pay for their fuel, and then they get paid down the track in 30, 60, or 90 days, depending upon the contractual arrangements that they have,” Albanese said.
The next stage of the national plan is called “taking targeted action” with a fourth stage called “protecting critical services for all Australians”, he said.
Energy Minister Chris Bowen said the government “don’t expect to move off” stage two for “quite a while”.
“Stage three is about when supply is disrupted and at this point there’s been no disruption to international supply to Australia,” Bowen said.
When asked about rationing, Bowen said the direction remains the same for Australians: “Buy as much fuel as they need, as much fuel as they usually get, not more, not less”.
“Our message to the suppliers and the retailers is, if you do the wrong thing by Australian motorists and Australian truckies, the ACCC [Australian Competition and Consumer Commission] will come down on you like a ton of bricks, and that’s as it should be.
“We’ve empowered the ACCC. We’ve increased their surveillance and monitoring. We’re increasing the penalties. We’ve made it possible for them to issue on the spot fines, and that’s because every cent of this cost-of-living relief that we’ve announced today needs to reach the pockets and wallets of Australian motorists who are doing it tough.”
More to come.
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