This will provide another $400 million of fuel relief and will be delivered through an additional 10.9 per cent cut to the fuel excise for three months, which is a further 5.7 cents per litre cut.
Combined with the halving of fuel excise already legislated by the Government, the total reduction in excise on petrol and diesel will be 32 cents per litre.
The combined changes made by the Commonwealth and States this week will cut the cost of a 65-litre tank of fuel by nearly $23.
Federal Member for Blair Shayne Neumann said this relief was already starting to show up in petrol prices and he expected more to flow through in the next one to two weeks.
“This is more help with the cost of living for locals when they fill up. People are under cost-of-living pressure and a lot of that pressure is being piled on at the petrol pump due to the conflict in the Middle East,” Mr Neumann said.
“Giving back the GST windfall on fuel will help to further take the sting out of petrol price rises.”
This agreement delivers on the commitment by states and territories at Monday’s National Cabinet to return additional GST revenues they are receiving on fuel from the elevated prices we are seeing.
It is easier and faster to implement this by further cutting fuel excise than by amending the GST itself.
This builds on the Albanese Government’s temporary measures to halve the excise and eliminate the heavy vehicle road user charge.
Mr Neumann said this was more help with the cost of living on top of ongoing relief like tax cuts, more bulk billing, cheaper medicines and cheaper childcare.
“The Albanese Government is prioritising immediate fuel security and affordability at the same time as we’re focused on inflation, productivity and resilience and global uncertainty, and this relief is an important part of our efforts.”
On top of this, the Albanese Government is bringing forward $6.15 billion in capital to back Australian businesses hit by global disruption.
Backing domestic industrial capability is central to making Australia stronger and the role of the National Reconstruction Fund (NRF) is more important than ever.
The Government is accelerating the rollout of all three NRF sub funds to get capital moving faster where it’s needed most – the $1 billion Economic Resilience Program (ERP), $5 billion Net Zero Fund, and $150 million Forestry Growth Fund.
The ERP will deliver zero interest loans to industrial manufacturing and critical supply chains impacted by market disruptions – now expanded to include fuel, fertiliser and logistics.
The $5 billion Net Zero Fund will open sooner and support new manufacturing investment and improvement of energy efficiency in hard-to-abate sectors.
The $150 million Forestry Growth Fund will support timber processing for use in housing construction and investment in mills and processing facilities to move up the value chain.
Mr Neumann said the Government was serious about backing Australian jobs, businesses and industries, and was taking action to get capital funding flowing well ahead of schedule.
“Businesses in dozens of industries are under severe pressure because of unprecedented events overseas. This support will help them to navigate global supply chain disruption and make sure Australia has more of the things it needs.''
