Australian fuel prices set to soar as excise cut ends

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• By Avi Yemini

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The price of fuel is set to rise by 22 cents a litre when the temporary fuel excise cut ends at the end of this month.

The price per litre will be closer to 25 cents once the add GST is included.

The national average price for unleaded fuel last week was 163.5 cents a litre, according to the Australian Institute of Petroleum.

Fuel prices in Sydney and Melbourne were more than $2 a litre when the fuel excise was cut six months ago to provide relief for motorists.

Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers has resisted calls for the cut to be extended another six months, arguing that the temporary suspension had already cost the government around $3b in foregone tax revenue.

“I think most people understand the pressures on the Budget and why this can’t continue,” he said.

Opposition leader Peter Dutton said on September 6 that extending the fuel excise relief was “a question for the government”.

NRMA spokesman Peter Khoury said he did not expect prices to jump immediately when the fuel excise resumes at midnight on September 29.

He said it would take a few days for petrol stations to run out of existing stock, and that consumer watchdogs would be looking out for service stations that put prices up straight away.