Government Slashes Fuel Excise by 26 Cents, Remote Community Store Still Charging $4.80 a Litre

CANBERRA – The Australian Government has announced it will halve the fuel excise for three months starting April 1 in a move that will save the average motorist roughly $19 per tank. Remote Aboriginal communities have been assured the savings will reach them any day now.

A spokesperson for the Minister’s office confirmed that the 26.3 cent per litre reduction would “flow through to all Australians” including those in communities where fuel already costs more than a slab of VB at a city bottle-o.

“We want to be very clear that this relief is for everyone” the spokesperson said. “Whether you’re filling up your Hilux in Mosman or waiting three weeks for the fuel truck to show up at the community store.”

Local residents in one Top End community said they welcomed the announcement but noted their fuel price had been sitting at $4.80 a litre since before the war even started. “That’s just the regular price” one resident said. “We didn’t know there was a crisis. We thought that was just what petrol costs.”

The ACCC has been tasked with monitoring whether the savings are passed on at the bowser. When asked whether this monitoring would extend to remote community stores the spokesperson said the Commission would “look into the feasibility of looking into it.”

Meanwhile the government encouraged Australians to use public transport to conserve fuel. Residents of communities serviced by a bus that comes twice a week – weather permitting – said they would take that under advisement.

The fuel excise cut is expected to cost the budget $2.55 billion. A separate line item for remote fuel equity was not included because nobody asked.