The debate moves on to Ian who is a truck driver who wants to know why Albanese won’t take up the fuel excise cut and why Dutton won’t take up the tax cuts and why is the fuel excise only for a year?

Greg Jericho:

Oh a question from an “undecided” truck driver wanting cheaper petrol

He makes the good point though to Dutton – if he is only going to have it in place for 12 months, that means in a year’s time he would be saying he is about to increase petrol prices. Will that happen? Doubt it.

Key thing is a cut to the petrol rebate is for a start not going to deliver benefits anywhere near like the LNP says it will for most, and it encourages more greenhouse gas use.

Albanese:

Thank you for what you do. As an owner, driver, truckies, do it really tough. It’s a tough job that you do to keep the country moving. And one of the things that happened during the COVID pandemic, of course, was that you did keep the country going along with our people in our hospitals and retail and in aged care. It was magnificent the way that Australians got through what was a very difficult period. Look, we have to make decisions, and we were concerned that just a temporary measure, just like it happened prior to the 2022 election.

It then just disappeared, something that is temporary, that will, of course, because of the nature of it as well, kick in for a period of time, increase the deficit in the short term. What we have looked to do to target cost of living measures as cost of living measures that put downward pressure on inflation, which is why we have been successful in getting inflation down to 2.4% there’s more work to do.