Drivers brace as excise increase looms on holiday eve

Ski holidays and other far-flung winter road trip destinations will suffer when tax relief for drivers runs out during one of the biggest domestic travel periods, advocates warn.. A fuel excise cut and GST rebate designed to ease surging costs for drivers amid the conflict in Iran are both set to expire on June 30.  It will mean the median cost of filling a 65-litre tank in capital cities will jump by about $14.30 for petrol and $34.13 for diesel as drivers absorb a 32 cents per litre price hike.. But regional tourist destinations will also likely bear a knock-on effect as school holiday drivers elect to stay home, according to the Tourism and Transport Forum..

"We know the costs and the availability of fuel is radically impacting on people's travel plans," the forum's chief executive Margy Osmond told AAP.  A survey the peak body conducted of more than 1000 Australians showed 27 per cent would delay travel plans if fuel prices rose significantly in July.. Almost a quarter of respondents had already cancelled or postponed their holidays due to fuel issues, the survey found.. The winter holiday is an especially popular time for road trips, Ms Osmond told AAP..

"You've got the ski resorts, you've got people taking off to the mountains, going inland, chasing the sun," she said.. Destinations further from capital cities would be hardest hit due to the price of travel and anxiety over fuel availability, Ms Osmond said.. "If you're anywhere west of Orange or, for example, north of Bundaberg, you're in serious trouble," she told AAP..

Forward bookings were down at least 10 per cent in more than half of tourism operators questioned by the Queensland Tourism Industry Council in a separate survey, with more than a quarter seeing bookings down at least 30 per cent.. It comes as the US and Iran overnight electronically signed a memorandum of understanding to end the conflict that closed the Strait of Hormuz and sent global fuel prices rocketing.. But any cheaper fuel will take time to work its way into bowsers, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said..

"It will be at a minimum many months before things return to normal", he told reporters on Monday.  Finance Minister Katy Gallagher also did not rule out prolonging the tax discounts.. "This is something we'll keep under active consideration," she told ABC radio on Tuesday.. Regional Development Minister Kristy McBain highlighted the impact of the fuel crunch and tax relief had not been even-handed..

"I've driven through some of our metropolitan areas and the price of diesel and petrol is much lower there than is it in some of our rural communities," she told Sky News.. Australian Associated Press.