Australia moves to halve fuel tax in response to Middle East conflict

Australia – (Web Desk) – Australia is cutting its fuel tax in half. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the move on Monday. He wants to ease the pain at the petrol pump for everyday Australians.

Petrol prices have shot up because of the war in the Middle East. A litre of petrol in New South Wales jumped from $1.82 in February to $2.48 this week. Diesel hit $3 a litre.

Right now, Australians pay 52 cents tax on every litre of petrol. That tax will be cut to 26 cents for the next three months. The move will cost the government around $1.75 billion.

Albanese met with state and territory leaders on Monday. Together they came up with a plan to deal with the fuel crunch. “We are making fuel cheaper today because we understand that Australians are under serious pressure,” he said.

Some rural towns have run out of petrol. The government says fuel shipments are still coming in. The shortages are mainly due to panic buying and delays in getting fuel delivered.

Two states are doing their part too. Victoria and Tasmania have made public transport free. Albanese is asking all Australians to drive less where they can. “The less fuel we use in the cities the more we can send to regional areas,” he said.

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Parliament also passed a bill on Monday. It gives the government power to buy large shipments of fuel to boost supply. Australia currently has about 39 days of petrol and 30 days of diesel in reserve.

Trucks will also get some relief. The government is lowering a road user charge for heavy vehicles to help cut transport costs.