A majority of Australians support higher taxes on gas exports and extending the fuel excise cut, according to a recent poll. Many voters are also shifting towards renewable energy amid rising fuel prices and uncertainty.
Key points
Majority of Australians support taxing gas export profits
68% want to extend the fuel excise cut
Voters are shifting towards renewable energy
Many are cutting back on travel and energy use
Trump's policies on Iran blamed for fuel crisis
A majority of Australians support taxing profits from gas exports and extending the cut to the fuel excise, according to the latest Guardian Essential poll, despite Anthony Albanese on Wednesday ruling out a new tax on existing gas export contracts.
The poll also found the fuel crisis is seeing more voters keen to shift to renewable energy rather than stick with fossil fuels. Australians also say they’re already cutting back on travel, switching to public transport and reducing their use of aircon and heating amid the global fuel uncertainty.
Donald Trump’s war on Iran has copped the biggest blame for the crisis, but one-third of voters say the Australian government should have planned better for the energy shock.
The latest Essential poll of 1,067 voters last week found Australians were keen to see ambitious tax reform in next month’s federal budget. A large majority, 68%, want the fuel excise cut to be extended: the temporary halving of federal tax on petrol, saving motorists 26 cents a litre, is due to expire in June.
Albanese said on Wednesday that a public campaign for a gas tax had been “dishonest”. In an address to the mining industry in Perth, he defended the settings of Australia’s Petroleum Resource Rent Tax as “sensible” and said the need to support investment in the resources industry was being “lost in some of the populist rhetoric”.
But the poll found 57% of voters are supportive of taxing profits on gas exports, with only 12% opposed, and the remainder unsure.
Amid expectations that the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, could announce restrictions to negative gearing and the capital tax gains discount, nearly half of Australians – 46% – say they’d back reducing those tax breaks for property investors. Only 23% disapprove, with the remainder unsure.
Q&A
What percentage of Australians support extending the fuel excise cut?
68% of Australians support extending the fuel excise cut, which is set to expire in June.
Why do Australians want a tax on gas exports?
Australians believe taxing gas export profits could help address the ongoing fuel crisis and support economic reform.
How are Australians changing their behavior due to the fuel crisis?
Many Australians are cutting back on travel, using public transport more, and reducing their use of air conditioning and heating.
What is the impact of Donald Trump's policies on the Australian fuel crisis?
Donald Trump's actions regarding Iran are blamed by many voters for contributing to the current fuel crisis in Australia.
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Men (53% support) were more likely than women (40%) to support negative gearing and capital gains tax changes, while such a change had nearly identical levels of support across all age groups, with 47% of people aged 18-34, and 46% of people aged 35-54 and over 55, in favour.
“There has been a sharp decline in confidence in the economy over the next six month as the impact of the Iran war bites,” said Peter Lewis, executive director of Essential Media.
“This creates real challenges for the treasurer leading into the budget, but there is strong support for measures to review housing tax concessions and gas exports.”
Inflation jumped to 4.6% in the year to March, from 3.7% the month before, in the latest CPI figures released on Wednesday. Chalmers warned it was the start of an Iran war-linked fuel shock that will ripple through the economy over coming months.
The Essential poll found only 14% of respondents are expecting Australia’s economy to improve in the next six months, while 55% expect it will get worse, and 31% expect it to remain the same.
Labor’s announced budget plans have also been given approval by a slim majority. Restricting spending on the NDIS, as the health minister, Mark Butler, outlined last week, was supported by 52% of respondents; while boosting defence spending was supported by 51%.
Cutting government spending to reduce debt was backed by 59% of Australians. But at the same time, 64% of respondents said the government should prioritise services and support, even if it meant a budget deficit. Only 36% backed a budget surplus, even if that meant cutting jobs and services.
That was nearly the exact inverse of when the same question was asked in March 2025, when 69% of voters wanted betters services,and only 31% prioritised a budget surplus.
Australia has so far managed to avoid the worst of the fuel crisis, with petrol station outages easing and retail prices on the way down.
Albanese used a nationally televised address earlier this month to encourage people to consider using public transport and conserve fuel for critical industry. His message appears to have been heeded by some Australians, with 21% of respondents saying they were switching to public transport to save fuel for essential users and – despite mocking of the idea by right wing politicians – 40% of Australians are pumping up their car tyres to the highest recommend pressure.
A total of 18% of respondents said they were already rationing fuel, 38% are using heating and air conditioning at lower settings and 31% are reducing their travel by avoiding holidays or more working from home.
Asked what was most to blame for the fuel crisis, 42% of Australians pointed the finger at the US and Israel for initiating military strikes on Iran. Another 17% blamed Iran for closing the strait of Hormuz.
But 32% blamed the Australian government for not planning ahead for the fuel crisis.
Government ministers have foreshadowed that fuel resilience will be a major theme of next month’s budget, with expectations of measures to boost or support supply, such as backing biofuels and ethanol.
When asked to make a choice between statements on energy, 23% said Australia should move as quickly as possible towards renewables and another 38% backed moving to renewables at a steady, manageable pace.
Just 9% of respondents said Australia should slow down its shift toward renewables, while 20% said the country should not shift away from coal, oil and gas.
