Albanese warns fuel crisis could worsen

Speaking to 9News on the first anniversary of his re-election, Albanese said an extension of the reduced fuel tax, which expires in July, will not be detailed in next week’s federal budget.

“That will be decided later, there are too many changes,” he said.

The reduced fuel duty has saved motorists between 20 and 30 cents per liter since the fuel crisis began in February.

Despite struggling with a strained fuel supply for almost ten weeks, the Albanians were unable to indicate whether the worst of the fuel crisis was in the past.

“As far as petrol is concerned, have we seen the worst, or is worse still to come?” asked Charles Croucher, editor-in-chief of 9News.

“There is real uncertainty,” Albanese replied.

Croucher said: “It will worry people that the answer is not definitively that the worst is behind us.”

Albanese responded, “It’s because it’s an unpredictable world, and I think people understand that there’s no certainty here.”

With uncertainty surrounding the war, the Prime Minister appears to be focusing heavily on obtaining cost-of-living relief elsewhere.

Tax cuts are already legislated for every taxpayer and will begin in July, just as fuel taxes end.

Next week’s Budget will focus on changes to the capital gains tax credit and potentially negative gearing and trust tax schemes.

The government says this will make things fairer for future generations.

“One thing that young people say to me, but also to their parents and grandparents, especially grandparents, is that they worry about their grandchildren,” Albanese said.

Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino also discussed the issue.

“I think the Australian people hope that we look at taxes in the context of these broader themes of intergenerational fairness and productivity,” he said.

But One Nation and the Liberal Party say the tax changes represent broken promises, arguing they were not spotted during Labour’s election campaign a year ago.

“If you want to create more of something – in this case housing – the answer is don’t tax it,” said Liberal Senator Claire Chandler.

One Nation member Barnaby Joyce said the government should “encourage people to be careful because the more they put away, the less we have to care for them in old age”.

“Because if I have a choice between giving it to Jimmy or spending it myself, I think I’ll just spend it,” he said.

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