Green Left

Will cutting fuel excise worsen the Iran war 'oil shock' in Australia?

The federal Labor government of Australia has temporarily halved the fuel excise and cut the heavy vehicle road user charge to zero for three months. Will this worsen the Iran war "oil shock"? Andrew Chuter, a transport and Socialist Alliance activist says it will. Subsidising fossil fuels — to the tune of $16.3 billion last year alone — has "locked us into the past" by holding back a faster transition to renewable energy that could have protected the country from this latest "oil shock". We need to move more freight to rail, electrify the remaining road freight fleets and boost public transport usage by making it free — permanently, he argues. Video by Peter Boyle for Green Left.