CANBERRA: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday announced the government will halve its tax on fuel sales in response to record-high prices.
Albanese told reporters in Canberra after meeting with the state and territory leaders on Monday morning that the fuel excise will be cut for three months from Wednesday.
He said that the initiative would reduce the cost of petrol and diesel by 26.3 cents per liter amid rising prices driven by the Middle East conflict oil crisis.
According to the latest data from the Australian Institute of Petroleum (AIP), the national average price for regular unleaded fuel hit a record high of 2.53 Australian dollars (about $1.73) per litre in the week to Sunday, an increase of 6.3 per cent from 2.38 Australian dollars the previous week.