The National Road Transport Association (NatRoad) is calling on the Federal Government to immediately extend the suspension of the Road User Charge (RUC) for heavy vehicles until Christmas following the renewed closure of the Strait of Hormuz and growing concerns about another global fuel shock.
NatRoad CEO Warren Clark said Australia could not afford to repeat the mistakes of March, when diesel prices surged and transport operators across the country were pushed to breaking point.
“If trucks stop, Australia stops,” Mr Clark said.
“The closure of the Strait of Hormuz is a serious escalation that threatens global fuel supply and price stability. We will already have a jump when fuel excise returns in a few weeks. The worst thing the Government could do right now amid so much uncertainty is add another 32.4 cents per litre to trucking costs by reinstating the Road User Charge on July 1.”
Mr Clark said the temporary suspension of the RUC had provided much-needed stability for operators during an extraordinary period of global uncertainty.
“It was a sensible decision when it was introduced and it remains the sensible decision now,” he said.
“Many transport businesses are still recovering from the fi nancial shock of March. They simply do not have the capacity to absorb another dramatic fuel cost increase on top of the return of the fuel excise in July.”
NatRoad warned that any increase in trucking costs would inevitably fl ow through to Australian households.
“When trucking costs rise, the price of groceries, medicines, farming inputs and everyday essentials rises with them,” Mr Clark said.
“Road freight carries around 80 per cent of Australia’s domestic freight task. When trucks pay more, Australians pay more.”
Mr Clark said suspending the RUC until the end of the year would provide certainty to operators while global markets remain volatile and would help protect Australians from further cost-of-living pressure.
“This is not the time to increase costs on the businesses that keep Australia moving,” he said.
“The Government acted decisively in March. We are asking them to show that same leadership again.”
Kate McMahon
Pure Public Relations
0403 991 424
[email protected]
Varsha Kumar
Pure Public Relations
0420 540 589
[email protected]
