Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has announced that the Coalition will replace Labor’s proposed tax cuts with a plan to halve the fuel excise for 12 months.
This policy aims to reduce fuel prices by 25 cents per litre, providing relief to Australian families facing rising living costs.
Cheaper fuel or tax cut?
The proposed fuel excise reduction is estimated to cost $6 billion over the year.
Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor said that this measure would save a one-car family approximately $750 annually, equating to about $14 per week.
Taylor also said the Coalition would “put our costings out before the election.”
In contrast, Labor’s budget includes tax cuts amounting to $5 per week, set to commence in 15 months.
The Coalition has criticised these cuts as insufficient, with Taylor referring to them as “70 cents a day” relief.
The Coalition’s plan has sparked debate, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese accusing Dutton of replicating former Liberal government policies, such as the 2022 temporary fuel excise cut.
Albanese expressed concerns that the Coalition’s proposal offers only short-term relief without addressing long-term cost-of-living challenges.
“This is what Scott Morrison did in the 2022 budget, but then it disappeared because it was time-limited,” he told the ABC. “This is time-limited as well — just for one year, with no ongoing cost-of-living help.”
The government’s tax cuts passed the Senate with support from the Greens and crossbench senators but were opposed by the Coalition.
Labor argues that these cuts provide essential, albeit modest, assistance to taxpayers, while the Coalition plans to repeal them if elected.
Subscribe to The Briefing, Australia’s fastest-growing news podcast on LiSTNR today. The Briefing serves up the latest news headlines and a deep dive into a topic affecting you. All in under 20 minutes.