In an interview with 9News marking the first anniversary of his re-election, Prime Minister Albanese addressed the future of the reduced fuel excise, which is set to expire in July. He clarified that next week’s federal budget will not include details on extending this measure. “That’ll be decided further down the track, as there are too many changes,” Albanese explained.
The current reduction in fuel excise has provided relief to motorists, offering savings between 20 and 30 cents per litre since the onset of the fuel crisis in February. Despite these efforts, the Prime Minister was unable to confirm if the most challenging phase of the crisis had passed.
During the conversation, 9News chief political editor Charles Croucher inquired, “In terms of petrol, are we through the worst of it now, or is there still worse to come?” To this, Albanese admitted, “There’s real uncertainty there.”
Despite grappling with a strained fuel supply for nearly 10 weeks, Albanese couldn’t indicate whether the worst of the fuel crisis was in the past.
“In terms of petrol, are we through the worst of it now, or is there still worse to come?” 9News chief political editor Charles Croucher asked.
“There’s real uncertainty there,” Albanese responded.
Croucher said: “It will worry people that the answer isn’t definitively that the worst is behind us.”
Albanese responded: “It’s because it’s an unpredictable world, and I think people understand there’s no certainty here.”
With uncertainty surrounding the war, the prime minister seems sharply focused on sourcing cost-of-living relief elsewhere.
Tax cuts are already legislated for every taxpayer and will begin in July, right as the fuel excise is due to end.
Next week’s budget will focus on changes to the capital gains tax discount and potentially negative gearing and trust tax arrangements.
The government says that will make things fairer for future generations.
“One thing young people say to me, but also their parents and grandparents, particularly grandparents, is that they worry about their grandkids,” Albanese said.
Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino also addressed the issue.
“I think the Australian people would hope that we would look at tax in the context of these broader themes of intergenerational fairness and productivity,” he said.
But One Nation and the Liberal Party say the tax changes represent broken promises, arguing they weren’t flagged in Labor’s election campaign a year ago.
“If you want to create more of something – in this case housing – the answer isn’t taxing it,” Liberal Senator Claire Chandler said.
One Nation member Barnaby Joyce said the government should be “encouraging people to be prudent because the more they put away the less we have to look after them in old age”.
“Because if I’ve got a choice between giving it to Jimmy or spending it myself – I suppose I’ll just spend it,” he said.
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