Australia news live: government not ruling out extending fuel excise cut; three dead and man arrested in Sydney

The Labor government isn’t ruling out extending the cut to the fuel excise, assistant treasurer Daniel Mulino has said.

But an extension of the excise cut would likely be decided after the budget, with Mulino downplaying the likelihood of such a decision coming in the document Jim Chalmers will hand down this month.

Mulino was on Sky News earlier, and was asked about the halving of the fuel excise, which is currently slated to run for three months and save motorists 26 cents a litre at the petrol pump. The Labor government cut the excise amidst fuel price spikes due to the war in Iran.

Mulino said the cut had only been in place for one month, and the government would assess the decision again toward the end of the three months.

double quotation markI think we need to really see how the overseas conflict evolves, how prices evolve for oil. But I think, you know, it is doing what it was intended to do. It’s not a silver bullet, but it is providing material support for people. And as I said, it’s providing support for people who are really doing it tough when they can’t shift away from using petrol.

Asked whether the government could extend the cut, Mulino replied: “I don’t think anybody in the government’s ruling out that. But I think what they’re saying is that they’ll look at that closer to the time when it is coming towards its end.”

Pressed further as to whether that decision would come after the budget, rather than be included in the May budget, Mulino replied: “I would expect so.”