CANBERRA, June 21 (Xinhua) -- The Australian government on Sunday announced it will extend a cut to the tax on fuel sales for another month at a lower rate.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Sunday that the fuel excise cut will be rolled back from a discount of 32 cents (about 0.22 U.S. dollars) a liter to 16 cents a liter from July 1 until Aug. 2, when the full tax will be reinstated at a rate of 52.6 cents per liter.
The federal government cut the tax by 26.3 cents per liter for three months from April 1 in response to record-high fuel prices amid the global oil crisis caused by conflict in the Middle East.
Australia's state and territory governments agreed to contribute a further cut worth 5.7 cents per liter over the same three-month period.
Albanese said in a joint statement with Treasurer Jim Chalmers, Energy Minister Chris Bowen and Transport Minister Catherine King that gradually rolling back the discount would help Australians with cost-of-living pressures.
"The extension to the fuel excise cut we've announced today recognizes that economic and fuel stability recovery will take time," they said.
"Despite the welcome and substantial drop in the price of petrol recently, we recognize people are still under pressure."
According to the latest data from the Australian Institute of Petroleum, the national average price for unleaded fuel was 1.69 Australian dollars per liter for the week ending June 14, down from a record-high of 2.53 Australian dollars per liter for the week to March 29. ■
