Logistics guru at trucking company sounds the alarm about the Albanese government’s fuel tax cut – days after one of his drivers was stranded at an empty Outback servo
An operations coordinator at a major national trucking company has slammed Anthony Albanese’s response to the fuel crisis, saying it risks ‘shelves going empty’.
Alex Randall from Loadshift said his company had been calling for the fuel excise to be scrapped entirely for five weeks, and the government had not gone far enough by halving it for three months.
‘It’s good they’ve finally moved, but halving it when drivers are paying $3.60-a-litre and getting stranded at empty servos is a half-measure for a full-blown crisis,’ he told Daily Mail.
The Prime Minister announced on Monday his government would cut the tax paid on fuel as part of a four-point National Security Fuel Plan to battle price jumps triggered by the ongoing war in the Middle East.
‘Today, we’re announcing that the Commonwealth government will halve the fuel excise on petrol and diesel for three months,’ Albanese said.
‘The halving of the fuel excise will reduce the cost of fuel by 26.3 cents per litre.’
Loadshift is a freelance trucking marketplace that connects 80,000 shippers with 40,000 carriers working in every state across Australia.
Mr Randall said the nation depends on freight for supply chains and that the ‘excise and the GST on diesel should be fully suspended until this is over’.
Loadshift operations coordinator Alex Randall said the government’s fuel plan needed to go further or supply chains would be at risk. A loadshift driver was recently stranded in the Outback after pulling into an empty servo (right)
The operations coordinator at Loadshift, a freelance trucking marketplace, lashed out at Anthony Albanese (above) after he halved the fuel excise
The government will cut the tax paid on fuel by 26.3c per litre for the next three months
‘Twenty-six cents doesn’t cover the gap when your fuel bill has doubled,’ he argued.
One of Loadshift’s own drivers became stranded at empty service stations twice this month on his trip from Perth to Melbourne.
He suffered 2.5 days worth of delays while waiting for shipments of diesel to arrive near Bordertown and Ceduna.
Albanese’s four-stage plan was released after he met with state and territory leaders at an emergency National Cabinet on Monday.
The four stages are: ‘plan and prepare,’ ‘keeping Australia moving,’ ‘taking targeted action’ and ‘protecting critical services for all Australians’.
The country is at the second stage: ‘Keeping Australia moving’.
As part of the scheme, the government also cut the heavy vehicle road user charge – a 32.4c levy paid on each litre of fuel by heavy vehicles.
Mr Randall said that was welcome, but warned a large portion of trucks won’t be ‘moving’ unless more cost-cutting measures are introduced.
Alex Randall, Loadshift’s Operations Coordinator, warned that while the price cut is good for everyday motorists, it’s not enough to keep trucks running
‘Removing the heavy vehicle user charge is the right call – we welcome that,’ he said.
‘But 98 per cent of the trucking industry is small businesses running on margins under 3 per cent.
‘They need more than a trim. They need genuine relief or they go under – and when they go under, freight stops moving and shelves go empty.’
Fuel excise is a flat federal tax applied to every litre of petrol and diesel sold in Australia and is indexed twice a year, regardless of global oil prices.
While fuel prices fluctuate daily based on international markets, retail margins and transport costs, excise remains a fixed component, making it a powerful lever for short‑term relief.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said Monday’s move would cut the cost of filling a standard 65‑litre tank by about $19.
The measures are expected to cost the budget $2.55 billion, with a further $53 million in foregone revenue from delaying the road user charge increase.
‘So this relief is temporary, it’s timely and it’s responsible,’ Chalmers said.
‘It’s all about taking some of the edge off these high petrol prices which are putting such extraordinary pressure on household budgets right around the country.’
Energy Minister Chris Bowen said he was ‘confident’ Australia’s fuel supply would hold and confirmed the government would work with regional allies in Asia to share oil supplies if needed.
