Australia’s fuel excise has already been halved until the end of June, and heavy vehicle road user charges have been suspended. Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAPView image in fullscreenAustralia’s fuel excise has already been halved until the end of June, and heavy vehicle road user charges have been suspended. Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAPNew relief for households being considered as Albanese government warns of ‘long tail’ from Iran warCatherine King says while peace talks were ‘best chance’ at lowering fuel prices, further help may be included in budget
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The Albanese government is contemplating further relief for struggling households and businesses in next month’s federal budget, as peace talks continue between the US and Iran amid a fragile ceasefire.
The infrastructure minister, Catherine King, said the success of those talks was the “best chance” at bringing down fuel prices. But she warned there would be a “long tail” from the crisis even if the strait of Hormuz – which was still being blocked by Iran and strangling global oil supplies – reopened imminently.
Australia’s fuel excise has already been halved until the end of June, and heavy vehicle road user charges have been suspended, but the government has been looking at how events unfold in the coming weeks to see whether more relief could be included in the May budget, King said.
Read more“Whether there’s need for additional measures for household and businesses, they’re all the things that we’re contemplating as part of the budget process,” King told ABC’s Insiders on Sunday.
“We’re very hopeful in terms of the ceasefire, but we’re realistic about that as well. This is a complex geopolitical area that’s not … an easy area [a] for quick and easy resolution.
“So we’ve got to be prepared for that and understanding [of] what that means for businesses, for our farming communities, making sure we continue to transport goods and services and provide services for people in communities far and wide.”
It came as the government prepared to launch a new TV, digital and billboard campaign on Monday to encourage people to minimise their fuel use.
The “every little bit helps” campaign is pitched as “a practical guide aimed at managing fuel supply chain pressures driven by the conflict in the Middle East”.
But the shadow defence minister, James Paterson, criticised the campaign, which would reportedly cost around $20m, as “political propaganda”.
“Frankly, I don’t think Australians want to be lectured by taxpayer-funded political propaganda about driving less,” Paterson told Sky News on Sunday.
“It’s very clearly about their political interest, not about fixing the problem.”
A successful ceasefire between the US and Iran could result in Iran and Oman charging fees of up to $US2m ($2.8m) a ship to pass through the strait – a move King said would be “very challenging” for economies.
While Australia had little control over what happens in the negotiating rooms in Islamabad, King said the government would focus on ramping up avenues for renewable fuels and electrification, while taking a swipe at the Nationals leader, Matt Canavan, for proposing more fossil fuel use that “the world has moved on” from.
“We’ve got this incredible resource here in this country that lots of other countries don’t have. We’re a secure, stable democracy [with] the capacity to generate renewables here in this country,” she said.
“Actually, the fact that we basically grow canola here, then we ship it overseas, turn it into sustainable aviation fuel and then buy it back, is nuts. In our view, we should actually be having that low-carbon liquid … renewable diesel, we should be able to generate that here.
“We cannot rely on the rest of the world for our energy security. We’ve got to be able to generate it here and actually then use it here as well. And electrification is a great way.”
Read moreGlobal events have put further strain on the government’s upcoming budget as the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, balances the country’s rising inflation, stagnant productivity and pressure on the cost of living.
There is debate over whether tax breaks for electric vehicle (EV) owners should continue, with the scheme forecast to blow out 10 times its original four-year budget forecasts to $5.1bn, as reported by the Australian Financial Review.
King said the tax break had done a “good job” of increasing EV affordability, but she would not rule out whether it would be wound back.
EV users do not pay the fuel excise, and governments have been looking to introduce a road user charge to recoup missed revenue as their market share increases. King indicated her department had done modelling of the impacts but said there wasn’t a “clear pathway” for it to pass parliament at the moment.
“We’re trying to encourage as much electric vehicle uptake as we possibly can – we don’t want to disincentivise that at all. So there’s a balance to be struck here, both obviously, with the fringe benefit tax and potential of road user charging, but we’re making our way through that,” she said.
