Libby Coker (Corangamite, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

While there is great uncertainty on the world stage, the Albanese government is working to deliver certainty for all Australians. We know conflict in the Middle East is not distant from us here at home. It is being felt in very real ways. Australians are feeling it when they pull up to the bowser. Across my communities in the Bellarine, the Surf Coast and throughout the Geelong region, people are concerned about rising fuel costs. We recognise this and it's why from the outset we have taken action. From tomorrow, the fuel excise will be halved for three months. That's what this bill, the Treasury Laws Amendment (Fuel Excise Relief) Bill 2026, delivers.

This is immediate and meaningful relief. With the watchful oversight of the ACCC, it means lower prices for households, for businesses, for families, and it means support at a time when it is needed most. This bill legislates a three-month reduction in fuel excise and equivalent duties, and it enables changes to the road user charge to be made in response to the changing conditions Australians are facing. These are practical tools and they are deliberate measures. Importantly, they ensure we have the capacity to respond to our fast-changing global environment.

Schedule 1 of this bill gives effect to the core measure. It halves the excise and excise equivalent customs duty rate that applies to most fuels. From tomorrow, 1 April, through to 30 June this year, the rate will be reduced from 52.6c per litre to 26.3c per litre. That is a reduction of 26.3c per litre. For a typical 65 litre tank, that means savings of nearly $19. That is real money going back into the pockets of Australians, and it can make a real difference between stretching the household budget and staying on top of it.

We have also gone further. We are reducing the heavy vehicle road user charge to zero for three months. This is delivered through schedule 3 of this bill, which provides government with the flexibility to adjust the road user charge, including suspending limitations on increases over this financial year and the next. For the period from 1 April to 30 June, the charge will effectively be reduced to zero.

This is direct support for the freight sector. It recognises the critical role that transport operators play in keeping goods moving around our country, and it delivers meaningful savings. For a 400 litre tank, operators will now save around $130. But the benefit does not stop there. Because of the way road user charges interact with fuel excise and fuel tax credits, the total benefit to trucking operators is even greater. In total, they will see savings of around 32.4c per litre. They will save 26.3c per litre at the pump, and their fuel tax credits will increase from 20.2c to 26.3c per litre. That is an additional 6c per litre. It will provide critical cashflow support to operators at a time of rising costs and uncertainty.

Schedule 2 of the bill ensures we are not limited in our response to these uncertain times. It gives the Treasurer the ability to go further to reduce the fuel excise and equivalent customs duty rates by more than 50 per cent if we need to act. This is about flexibility and it is about being prepared for what lies ahead in uncertain times. It is also about ensuring that this government can respond quickly if global conditions deteriorate further. The reality is this: the situation is evolving, and our response must be proactive and capable of evolving with it.

These measures are not abstract. They flow through the entire economy, because, when fuel costs rise, everything costs more. This bill helps to limit that by easing pressure across the entire economy. We are also working closely with the ACCC and the states and territories to ensure the benefits of the excise reduction are fully realised. We are also acting to protect Australians from unfair pricing. At a time of volatility, there is real risk that some may seek to take advantage of the situation. This is not acceptable. Australians deserve fair treatment, and that's why we have strengthened the powers of the ACCC. When we came to office we increased penalties and we provided the ACCC with the ability to issue on-the-spot fines. More recently, we increased penalties further to ensure they are a real deterrent. Penalties can now reach up to $100 million because we believe price gouging during a crisis is unacceptable and it will not be tolerated.

The Treasurer has written to the ACCC to ensure that they are closely monitoring fuel prices. As these changes come into effect, Australians should see the full benefit of the excise reduction—not part of it, not most of it, but all of it—and the ACCC will be watching to ensure that happens. I am also calling on locals across my region to keep an eye on prices. If you see prices rising, please contact my office and we will get you in touch with the ACCC.

It is important to note that measures included in this bill have not been developed in isolation. This is the result of governments working together. Yesterday, at the National Cabinet meeting convened by the Prime Minister, all state and territory leaders endorsed the National Fuel Security Plan. That includes the cut to the fuel excise. National Cabinet includes Labor governments and it includes Liberal-National governments, and, at times like this, Australians expect cooperation. They expect governments to put the national interest first, and that is what has occurred.

The National Fuel Security Plan is built on clear and practical principles. The first is to plan and prepare. The second is to keep Australia moving. We want to ensure that supply chains continue to function effectively, we want to ensure that businesses can continue to operate and thrive and we want to ensure that Australians can go about their daily lives without unnecessary interruption. That is why we are also asking Australians to act responsibly—to buy the fuel they need and not more, and to make sensible choices that help stabilise supply. Australians are generous. We work together when it matters most, and that's exactly what I'm seeing across my communities right now and I'm confident that will continue. We know that managing the challenges of a global markets shock requires a collective effort, and that collective effort is at the heart of our response.

National Cabinet has agreed that we are at level 2 under the plan. That reflects a situation requiring heightened coordination and targeted action. Together, the Commonwealth and the states have established a fuel supply taskforce. Officials from across jurisdictions are working together to monitor supply, assess risks and respond quickly. Ministers across key portfolios are engaged. Energy, Treasury, Agriculture, Infrastructure—all working together, all focused on managing the impacts of a global crisis that is beyond any one country's control. And, while we cannot control global events, we can control how we respond, and we are responding in a coordinated and practical way. That is what this bill is all about.

At its heart, this is about people. It is about the worker who relies on their car to get to their job. It is about the small-business owner managing costs. It is about the truck driver keeping goods moving around this country. And it is about making sure that, in the face of evolving global uncertainty, Australians are supported, protected and treated fairly.

The alternative approach put forward by the coalition would not deliver this. While we are acting to bring costs down, they are lining up to cut support. They want to scrap initiatives like the Cheaper Home Batteries Program that is already putting money back into the pockets of Australian households and small businesses. Three hundred thousand households and businesses are benefiting from that program, and, at the worst possible time, those opposite are suggesting that the government rip that support away. That is the difference. In contrast, our approach, and this bill, delivers real relief. It delivers real coordination. It delivers certainty, it delivers support and it demonstrates real leadership.

We know the global situation is changing rapidly, but Australians can be assured their government's focus is on easing cost-of-living pressures, securing our fuel supply and getting it where and when it is needed most. I commend the bill to the House.

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