26 September 2022
Further increases in the cost of living are set to hit Australian’s late next week when the current fuel excise ends which will not only see the price rising at the bowser for everyday Aussie’s, but for the transport industry who fear rising fuel prices will push them over the edge if Labor doesn’t reinstate the fuel tax credit scheme.
Yesterday in Senate Question Time, Senator Bridget McKenzie asked Finance Minister Katy Gallagher, who represents Treasurer Jim Chalmers in the Senate, whether the Minister can guarantee that the Albanese Government will put an end to the uncertainty currently faced by farmers and transport operators and restore the fuel tax credits scheme? To which Senator Gallagher stumbled to answer before taking the question on notice.
The answer should be simple, if Labor care about the transport industry they will reduce pressures on the industry and reinstate the tax credit scheme.
Industry groups and unions are in lock step on this issue, with the TWU, ARTIO, NRFA and NatRoad all having written to the Treasurer calling for certainty as their operating costs are already impacting the sustainability of road transport, and drivers and operators who work on razor-thin margins. Fears are rising from across the board that without the fuel tax credit scheme being reinstated supply chains could soon grind to a halt.
When will the Albanese Government give industry and the Australian community certainty? When will the Labor Government stop sitting on their hands and restore the fuel tax credits scheme? Sadly, when asked these exact questions in the Senate, Minister Gallagher yet again failed to give an answer.
END.