The Queensland premier said he still wants to see a national dashboard to current information on Australia’s fuel supply established, despite it not being taken up at national cabinet on Monday.
David Crisafulli met with state and territory leaders and the prime minister today to knock out a plan in the face of rapidly rising petrol prices due to the war in Iran.
Following the meeting, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the fuel excise —52.6¢ per litre of diesel – would be halved for the next three months and the heavy-vehicle road user charge eliminated for the same period.
While his calls for a dashboard apparently fell on deaf ears, Crisafulli said the idea was popular with industry leaders who use a lot of fuel.
“I don’t want to walk away from this,” he said on Monday evening.
“Queenslanders deserve to be part of a national dashboard regarding fuel supply, certainty and availability.
“The more information we can give, the better people will respond.”
On the heavy-vehicle user charge being paused, Queensland Treasurer David Janetzki said more consultation with the freight industry would be needed before it can be implemented.
The premier broadly backed the outcome of Monday’s meeting, which also included a four-stage national fuel security plan, as a good first step, but said the country had to “control its own destiny” in the future.
He said he wanted Queensland to take charge on a plan to mine, refine and store enough oil to support Australia.
“We want to treat people with respect, and I want them to know that some good will come from this crisis, and that some good will be to say we’re not going to be at the mercy of foreign nations,” he said.
The premier also pushed back on the reading of the fuel security plan that stage three would include measures requiring people to work from home.
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