‘No plans’ to further cut excise, as fuel prices leap
Cabinet ministers rule out further discounting as renewed Middle East conflict drives service station price rises.
The federal government has ruled out another cut to the fuel excise as renewed conflict in the Middle East lights a fresh fire under servo prices.
Labor said previous cuts to the 54-cent-a-litre excise were always designed to be temporary.
“We don’t have plans for it. We are watching what’s playing out in the Middle East, clearly,” Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles told News24 on Tuesday.
“Our focus has been in respect of ensuring fuel supply in Australia, and we’ve been able to do that from the moment that this conflict broke out.”
Earlier, Energy Minister Chris Bowen said the cuts had always been intended to be temporary.
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“We were very clear on that right from the beginning,” he told ABC TV on Monday.
“We did extend it a bit to have it gradually return to more normal levels, that has played out, we’re not going to respond to every daily movement on the world oil price.”
The government cut the tax on fuel by 32 cents a litre for three months from April 1, when a litre of petrol cost $2.32 and diesel $2.75 on average in capital cities after the conflict between the US and Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz and sent oil prices skywards.
It came back in 16 cent-a-litre increments, returning in full by August 2 after a ceasefire calmed global oil markets.
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That agreement is now in tatters, with missiles continuing to fly across the Gulf, multiple planned peace talks binned, and the Strait effectively closed.
Iranian-backed Houthi rebels have also seized key strategic islands in the Red Sea, another major trade route, allowing them to target Saudi Arabian oil shipments previously untouched by the conflict and further complicating the the regional chaos.
In recent days, a litre of fuel has crept above $2 a litre in all capital cities, and diesel about $2.50, according to the latest monitoring by the consumer watchdog.
Bowen reiterated the government had no immediate plans to reach for a second excise cut.
“It’s not the only cost of living measure that we put in place,” he said.
“Tax cuts, cheaper medicines, free TAFE, right across the board, and so we’ll obviously continue to focus on those other measures.”
Bowen will travel to Saudi Arabia in coming days for an update on the situation from the kingdom’s energy minister.
Australia has 41 days worth of petrol, 32 days of diesel, and 30 days of jet fuel, per Bowen’s latest update on September 12.
-with AAP
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