Canberra, March 30 : Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday announced the government will halve its tax on fuel sales in response to record-high prices. Albanese told reporters in Canberra after meeting with the state and territory leaders on Monday morning that the fuel excise will be cut for three months from Wednesday. He said that the initiative would reduce the cost of petrol and diesel by 26.3 cents per liter amid rising prices driven by the Middle East conflict oil crisis.According to the latest data from the Australian Institute of Petroleum (AIP), the national average price for regular unleaded fuel hit a record high of 2.53 Australian dollars (about $1.73) per litre in the week to Sunday, an increase of 6.3 per cent from 2.38 Australian dollars the previous week. The national average diesel price rose by 9.7 per cent in the same period to 3.1 Australian dollars per liter, the AIP said. "We understand that Australians are under serious pressure," Albanese said on Monday.

Additionally, he announced that the road user charge of 32.4 cents per liter of diesel used by heavy vehicles will be reduced to zero for three months to provide relief for the trucking industry, Xinhua news agency reported. Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the two measures would cost the government an estimated 2.55 billion Australian dollars in lost revenue.

From an economic point of view, the end of the conflict in the Middle East can't come soon enough, and in the interim, the government is stepping up to provide relief where we can do that in a responsible way, he said. On top of the cost-of-living relief measures, Albanese said on Monday that the state and territory leaders have agreed to a national plan that outlines how governments will work together on fuel security.

/IANS