The new Labor federal government says it will not extend the six-month cut to the fuel-excise announced in late March this year, currently set to expire in late September.
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles spoke on the Seven network’s breakfast show Sunrise this morning, stating:
“We’ve made our position clear and it is not our intention to change that [temporary cut].”
The previous Morrison federal government cut petrol and diesel excise by 22 cents per litre in a move designed to take the edge off record fuel prices – conveniently on the door step of an election campaign.
The flipside was the tax cut was costed at around $3 billion in excise denied to government coffers – mostly allocated to land transport projects.
The ACCC consumer watchdog later reported that the cut was largely being passed on by fuel retailers.
The average price of 91 RON petrol is currently nudging $2 per litre nationwide, while diesel is even higher – the latter point forcing up the price of everything delivered by freight.
Crude oil prices currently sit near $US110 a barrel, down from a March spike but up from below $70 per barrel this time last year. War in Ukraine is cited as one key driver.
“We think there are other ways in which we can deal with the question of cost of living. It is a big issue, people are finding it harder to make ends meet,” said Mr Marles.
“Ultimately getting wages going [up] is the main game. Even doing practical things like making childcare more affordable is a really important step in terms of trying to address cost of living.
“But not for a moment have we suggested we will be able to repair everything overnight. You have lost a decade of productivity. You can’t fix that in one week. But you can start the project and we are starting that right now and we will get the country on a path to prosperity.”
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