MEDIA RELEASE
13 April 2026
Taxpayer-Funded Fuel Lectures Won’t Fix Australia’s Fuel Security Crisis
Today I am calling on the Albanese Labor Government to immediately halve the fuel tax, delivering urgent cost-of-living relief to Townsville families, tradies and small businesses as fuel prices continue to surge.
In Townsville high fuel costs are hitting household budgets hard, getting to work, dropping the kids off at school or to pick groceries up is becoming an impossible as fuel prices soar.
A cut in the fuel tax the government collects would reduce fuel prices, providing immediate and practical relief. The Government must also match that in the reduction in the Heavy Vehicle Road User Charge to help keep our trucks on the road and protect local supply chains.
Federal Member for Herbert, Phillip Thompson OAM MP, said rising fuel prices are compounding the cost-of-living pressures already being felt across Townsville.
“In our community, people are telling me fuel costs are hitting harder every single week, whether they’re driving to work, taking the kids to school, running a small business or trying to deliver essential services,” Mr Thompson said.
“This is about providing relief where it counts most, at the bowser. A fuel tax cut is a clear, direct way to help Australians, and Townsville families manage rising costs right now.”
Across the country, more than a thousand of service stations have reported being out of fuel or unable to supply certain fuel types, raising serious concerns about distribution and preparedness during a period of global instability.
Mr Thompson said in regional centres like Townsville, fuel price increases will flow through to the cost of groceries, freight and local services.
“We know families are already stretched. When fuel prices rise, everything else goes up with it; groceries, freight, local services. Doing nothing is not an option,” he said.
The Coalition has confirmed the fuel tax cut can be fully funded without increasing inflation or debt, by responsibly reprioritising existing government spending, including:
- Ending the Electric Car Discount
- Reversing green hydrogen subsidies and tax concessions
- Pausing and strengthening integrity controls within the Home Battery Scheme
These measures would fully offset the estimated $1.5 billion cost of the three-month tax cut.
“This proposal is fully funded, responsible and focused on immediate relief,” Mr Thompson said. “Australians shouldn’t be forced to carry the burden of the government’s failure to secure fuel supply on top of a cost-of-living crisis.”
Like I’ve stated before we are ready to work constructively with the Government to deliver practical, targeted relief that helps communities like Townsville with the rising fuel prices without adding to inflation.
ENDS