Australia’s Labor opposition shadow Transport Minister Anthony Albanese has criticised an increase in the fuel excise in next week’s federal budget as an attack on working families.
The conservative Liberal-National government is strongly believed to be considering a three cents lift in the 38.1 cents per litre excise that could bring in $1 billion in extra revenue a year.
AAP Newsagency reports the excise has been locked at 38.1 cents since a former Liberal-National government froze automatic indexation in 2001, and if it was raised now millions of motorists across the country would pay more for petrol.
Mr Albanese said any increase would show the coalition government was “attacking the public through the petrol bowser”.
It would hurt working families “every time they filled up in their car”, Mr Albanese said on Nine Network TV today.
“It’s a regressive tax because if you live further away from where you work and you don’t have public transport options you’ll pay more and you’ll pay it every week,” he added.
“It’s bigger than the carbon price on everyone’s personal motor vehicle.”
Meanwhile the government has confirmed that its move to lift petrol fuel excise in next week’s budget will not affect the diesel fuel rebate.
ABC TV’s 7.30 program reported last night the $2.4 billion rebate will survive, sparing the government a backlash from big miners and farmers.
A confidential mining industry brief obtained by the ABC said the removing the rebate would hurt miners nearly as much as the original Labor mining tax.
“We’ve run the numbers on any substantial change to the rebate and the impact would be profound.
“Most likely far greater than any MRRT and probably a little less than the first mining tax,” it read.
As the war of words over the coming budget continued AAP reports the Education Minister Christopher Pyne labelled Labor “arsonists” for not supporting the government’s plan to scrap the carbon price laws introduced by the former Labor government.
“They’re like arsonists that set fire to their neighbour’s house, then when the firefighter turns up to try to put it out they mug the firefighter as well,” Mr Pyne said.
