Matt Burnell (Spence, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Today is the day. Our promise to cut the fuel excise by 50 per cent has started to come into effect. These changes cut 26.3 cents per litre from fuel prices, saving around $19 on a 65-litre tank. For families across the north, that's not loose change; that's groceries and school supplies. It's a bit of breathing room at the end of a long week. Because, when fuel goes up, everything goes up—the weekly shop, getting to work, getting the kids to school and even the cost of keeping small businesses moving. This is practical cost-of-living relief delivered now, for tradies heading out of the crack of dawn, for shift workers arriving home late, for truckies keeping our shelves stocked and carrying Australia. This matters. It means fewer tough choices between filling the tank and paying the bills. It means supporting the very people who keep our economy moving every single day. Importantly, it recognises that Australians should not be punished at the pump for global pressures beyond their control. We are stepping in, easing that burden and putting money back where it belongs—in the pockets of everyday Australians. At the end of the day this is about fairness.

I'll tell you something else about fairness. It would be fair of the opposition to start supporting the leader of this party and of this country in getting on with making the lives of everyday Australians that little bit better, and stop politicising the fuel crisis on our borders right now.

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