Monday\u2019s national cabinet meeting is not likely to endorse petrol rationing across Australia \u2013 but you can see more serious government interventions on the horizon.<\/p>\n
The Albanese government doesn\u2019t expect this fuel crisis to suddenly resolve itself.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven if this conflict was to end tomorrow, there is going to be a long tail \u2026 this situation is not going to end any time soon,\u201d the environment minister, Murray Watt, warned on Sunday.<\/p>\n
As the federal budget nears on 12 May, businesses are calling for help and focus is turning to those vulnerable Australians hit hardest by inflation, interest rates and now ballooning fuel prices. The Albanese government will focus in parliament this week on its plan to underwrite petrol companies to secure more supply<\/a> but most of the fuel problem is logistical, not legislative; so there are other levers that governments could start pulling.<\/p>\n Anthony Albanese will outline more of his approach in a speech to the National Press Club on Thursday. But business groups are floating the need for cashflow support, farmers\u2019 groups need help securing diesel and fertiliser, and some state governments are announcing free public transport<\/a> \u2013 something the Greens had been pushing for nearly two weeks<\/a>, when the fuel price and supply crunches started really hitting.<\/p>\n It means Jim Chalmers\u2019 budget will have even more demands on spending than usual. Watt on Sunday conceded budget decisions might be made later than usual \u201cbecause things are so volatile\u201d. Who knows which sectors will need emergency support by May?<\/p>\n There\u2019s also an electoral question. Will the government start copping even more of the public blame and need a political boost?<\/p>\n Perhaps that\u2019s why Albanese has left the door open for a cut to the fuel excise.<\/p>\n Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email<\/a><\/p>\n Despite Chalmers saying last week the government was not thinking about such a move, Albanese pointedly didn\u2019t rule it out after the opposition leader, Angus Taylor, called for halving the 52.6c\/L surcharge<\/a> for three months. The government probably doesn\u2019t want to swallow the $1.5bn cost just yet but may be keeping it as a \u201cbreak glass in case of emergency\u201d option of last resort.<\/p>\n Of course there\u2019s a chance it would make no real difference. Economists and analysis have shown<\/a>, including when Peter Dutton suggested it at the last election, that it would be poorly targeted and go towards richer people<\/a>. Cheaper petrol could even increase demand, and put pressure on inflation.<\/p>\n But you could see how a government under pressure could mount an easy populist campaign by saying they\u2019d made fuel 25c a litre cheaper.<\/p>\n It comes amid correlated concerns about inflation. Last week\u2019s Guardian Essential poll<\/a> found a quarter of Australians thought government spending was the biggest factor in the Reserve Bank raising interest rates. So the government faces new calls to spend money from some, while at the same time being criticised for spending too much already by others.<\/p>\n