When Scott Morrison’s Government temporarily halved the fuel tax excise back in March, grey nomads found that paying 22 cents less per litre for six months delivered an immediate boost to their on-the-road budgets.
However, the fuel levy cut also raised some serious questions … like where is the money going to come from to fix and maintain Australia’s vast road network?
This has inevitably played into a wider debate about road funding in the longer term … one that could have a massive impact on grey nomads.
As the take-up of electric vehicles erodes fuels excise revenue, it is being seen as inevitable that motorists will eventually be charged for every kilometre they drive in order to pay for roads.
A few months ago, Western Australia followed the example of South Australia, New South Wales and Victoria by outlining plans to start taxing electric vehicle owners per kilometre to use the state’s roads.
And it seems that, soon enough, it will not be just electric cars paying for the distance travelled.
Many experts say a simpler broad-based road user charge should replace myriad taxes, including the fuel excise.
Infrastructure Australia has called for a national distance-based road user charging system to be developed within the next five years, to be operational within 10 years, and to cover all vehicles in 15 years.
And recently, a confidential NSW government document revealed plans to introduce GPS-monitored distance-based tolls for Sydney drivers on suburban roads and motorways.
The Future Transport Strategy said ‘network-wide distance-based pricing should be investigated to reshape travel behaviour’.
For ‘high kilometre travelling’ grey nomads, the real question is whether a distance-based road user charge would leave them better or worse off. A figure being bandied about to charge passenger vehicles is three cents per kilometre.
That would add up to a total of $3 per 100 kilometres. On the other hand, when the fuel levy goes back up to its full level of 44.2 cents per litre soon, a caravanner who uses 16 litres per 100 kilometres would be paying a little over $7 in fuel excise over 100 kilometres.
So far, so good.
But with so many potential models for a new charge, the devil will inevitably be in the detail. With Government trying to claw back the money potentially lost through axing the fuel excise, what will the road use cost per kilometre actually end up being for passenger vehicles?
And, with bigger vehicles like trucks clearly having the greatest impact on road condition, might vehicles towing caravans and larger motorhomes end up being charged at a higher rate?
Then there are those who argue a new charge should take into account more than just the actual distance travelled. Will charges also be based on other costs of road use, such as wear and tear on roads, traffic congestion, and air pollution?
Those sorts of decisions will decide whether long distance regional drivers like grey nomads end up paying a higher proportion of road repair and maintenance costs, or whether it will be city-based drivers who pick up a larger share of the tab.
We live and travel in interesting times.
This is when I wished I lived in Victoria, not Queensland LOL
Yes, the devil is in the detail but will the fuel companies actually pass on the full excise reduction? Look at the price of fuel at the moment which includes a temporary fuel excise cut!
SO it looks like we are going back to “road tax ” that we have had before ? How about we STOP polls from receiving such high pension pay out and retrieve the gold card system when they leave government — go to what we all suffer high taxes ??
Why not include a National registration and licence charge as well, then there would be no unregistered cars on the road
, “would a distance based user pays road system make sense?”
Nope…not in this country imo. The people being penalised the most as usual would our country folk…the farmers and producers, the folk that have to travel miles to the nearest town for supplies. The average city slicker wouldn’t feel the pain at all.
The system now works quite well, well it did before the Government messed with the excise and screwed over the transport industry by halving their available excise rebate!……and what about the School Bus operators and Bus Companies? How would you tax them as they do the daily run to pick up and drop kids off at school or passengers? Without a rebate while wearing an additional Tax would crucify them. They currently can get a fuel rebate of the excise paid,..mean while fuel prices have climbed back to and above the price prior to the 22c excise removal…
To mess with the system would be a disaster for so many businesses…of course EV owners should pay a kilometre rate as they constribute nothing to the roads without buying fuel.
…would you trust the fuel companies to honor the system and not sneak in extra profits…Nah!
Haul in Federal & State wastage, get rid of consultation charging excessive fees, hold politicians accountable for decisions, 5 billion payout on submarines that are not, stop selling of public assets in the guise cost of living will be cheaper (bollocks) as private enterprise is about profits, retrospect retired politicians remuneration until they are 67&1/2 and could go on with political rorting. The money saved could go infrastructure such as roads etc
If they have to charge electric vehicles, charge it at the power station, just like we do at the pump. And don’t start charging, ICE vehicles until their are just ev’s left. We already pay excise, so they cannot double bill us, would not be fair.
Of course, fuel tax for electric cars would be replaced by the distance tax.
Electric cars are heavier than petrol cars. They should be paying more per km than petrol cars. This should be happening now. Get rid of the petrol tax, and introduce a distance tax tomorrow. It could be adjsuted based on vehicle weight.