Government to cut fuel excise and give motorists relief from emission trading scheme

The Rudd Government is proposing to offset the impact of an emissions trading scheme on fuel prices by cutting the fuel excise.

The Rudd Government is proposing to offset the impact of an emissions trading scheme on fuel prices by cutting the fuel excise.

The proposal is one of a number of options to come out of the Government’s green paper for carbon reduction, which will be released later today by Federal Climate Change Minister Penny Wong.

The green paper will set out how the cap-and-trade emissions trading scheme will work, and will also explain how households and businesses will be compensated for the sharp rises in energy prices what will occur as a result of the introduction of a trading scheme.

Wong said earlier this week that she expected that only around 1000 companies would be directly affected by the introduction of an emissions trading scheme, meaning most small and medium businesses won’t have to worry.

The proposed fuel excise cuts will help Kevin Rudd and Wong sell the emission trading scheme to voters who have been battered by sharp rises in living costs, including a 30% rise in the cost of petrol this year.

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