– Halving the tax will reduce the price of fuel by 26.3 Australian cents per liter – said Albanese.
The total cost to the government will be about A$2.55 billion (US$1.75 billion), Finance Minister Jim Chalmers said at a joint press conference with the Prime Minister and Energy Minister Chris Bowen, Reuters reported.
About 20 percent of the world’s oil was transported through the Strait of Hormuz before the US-Israel war against Iran disrupted supplies.
The price of Brent crude rose by 59 percent in March, the largest monthly increase in history, and was at $115.66 a barrel at the market opening on Monday.
The measures are the latest in a series of steps to secure fuel supplies that Canberra has taken since the start of the war on February 28. Earlier, it was announced the release of gasoline and diesel from domestic reserves, as well as a temporary easing of fuel quality standards.
The average retail price of a liter of diesel last week in Australia rose to more than A$3, while petrol reached $2.50, according to a March 29 report from the Australian Petroleum Institute.
(Vijesti.ba / FENA)
