Australia extends fuel excise relief to ease household cost pressures

SYDNEY: Australia will extend fuel excise relief for an additional month, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Sunday, as the country continues to grapple with higher fuel costs during the ​Iran war.

The government would “extend fuel excise relief for another month, making petrol and diesel 16 cents per litre cheaper versus normal prices for July, saving Australians around A$11 per tank”, Albanese said in a statement.

“This is more temporary support that will help take the sting out of petrol prices and help Australians with the cost of living,” he said.

The centre-left government had already halved the excise on ‌fuel and diesel and removed a heavy road user charge for three months until the end of June to help households deal with higher prices at the fuel pump, sparked by the war in the Middle East.

Sunday’s announcement followed last month’s move to extend a measure that releases petrol and diesel ​from domestic reserves until September. It was due to expire in July.

Australia, which imports most of its fuel, has experienced localised shortages during the US-Israel war ⁠against Iran that broke out in February.

Some 20% of the world’s oil was shipped through the Strait of Hormuz before the war choked supplies.

“We know that families are still under pressure, and we also know that the impact of this conflict on the other side of the world will have a long economic tail to it,” Albanese said in televised remarks on Sunday.