SYDNEY: Australia will halve a fuel tax to help motorists experiencing soaring petrol prices due to war in the Middle East, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Monday. Albanese announced the step after meeting with the leaders of Australia&#39;s states and territories on Monday, agreeing a plan to tackle fuel shortages as the war in the Middle East continues. Australia charges a sales tax of 52 cents on each litre of petrol sold at the pump, which will be halved for three months. The measure will cost the government $1.75 billion (Aus$2.55 billion), officials said. &quot;We are making fuel cheaper today because we understand that Australians are under serious pressure,&quot; Albanese said. Albanese&#39;s government has sought to reassure motorists that shipments of fuel continue to arrive in Australia, and petrol shortages in rural towns stem from panic buying and distribution bottlenecks. Victoria and Tasmania states have made travel on public transport free, and Albanese urged motorists nationally to do what they can to conserve petrol by driving less. &quot;The less fuel we use in the cities obviously the more we can redirect to regionals areas that are under pressure,&quot; he told reporters in Canberra. In New South Wales, state Premier Chris Minns said there were scores of petrol stations without any fuel, and the focus was on helping rural towns. &quot;If the situation gets worse, we will take extra measures,&quot; he said. Australia&#39;s national parliament on Monday introduced a bill to give powers to the government to underwrite the purchase of shiploads of fuel that will add to supply in Australia. Weekly data released by the government showed Australia has 39 days of petrol, a small increase on the previous week, and 30 days of diesel supply. The government will also reduce costs for trucks by cutting a heavy vehicle road user charge. The Fuel Check monitor showed average petrol prices had leapt from Aus$1.82 in February to Aus$2.48 on Monday in New South Wales, with diesel reaching Aus$3.&nbsp;

A car passes a sign displaying petrol prices at a petrol station in Sydney on March 30, 2026.

Australasia

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announces a temporary halving of Australia’s fuel tax to ease soaring petrol prices and shortages caused by the US-Israel war on Iran.

Australia to halve fuel tax in response to US-Israel war on Iran

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: Following the deadly shooting at Sydney&rsquo;s Bondi Beach on Sunday, several&nbsp;Indian and Israeli media outlets misreported the identities of both the attackers and the bystander who was hailed a hero, instead framing the incident around religion and nationality. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu erroneously described the man who subdued one of the attackers as Jewish, while Israeli and Indian media alleged the gunmen were &ldquo;Pakistani Muslims.&rdquo; &ldquo;I saw a video on the way of a Jew who pounced on one of the murderers, snatched the weapon, saving who knows how many lives,&rdquo; the Israeli PM said during a briefing in Dimona, Israel. The Times of India shied away from describing the hero as a Syrian Muslim, and instead reported, &ldquo;Social media footage showed moments of bravery amid the terror, including a bystander who confronted one of the gunmen and wrestled a weapon away.&rdquo; Indian media outlets, including ANI and The Times of India, kept falsely asserting that the attackers were a Pakistani father and son. Both claims were wrong and contradicted by Australian officials&#39; descriptions of the incident. Neither the Israeli leader nor the Indian media has taken back their statements. Jewish victims, Muslim heroThe shooting targeted a Hanukkah celebration, killing at least 15 people according to official reports. The attack was quickly labelled an antisemitic terrorist attack by Australian officials, prompting international condemnation. Amid the chaos, an unarmed individual, identified as Ahmed al Ahmed, charged at one of the gunmen and snatched his gun while sustaining bullet shots. The international media was quick to praise the hero. Police credited Ahmed, father of two, with preventing further loss of life. Australian police said the attackers were linked to the Islamic State group, also known as Daesh, and were not acting on behalf of any state or national community. &quot;Clearly, they were motivated by this extremist ideology,&quot; Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. A makeshift flower memorial next to Bondi Beach swelled in size on Monday evening as mourners gathered to pay tribute to the victims.

Indian and Israeli media misreported the identities of the Bondi Beach attackers and a bystander hero, falsely linking the gunmen to Pakistan and not correctly identifying the Syrian Muslim rescuer, despite clarification by Australian authorities later.

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Australia to halve fuel tax in response to US-Israel war on Iran

Indian, Israeli media misreport Sydney beach shooters, bystander identities