Opposition Leader Angus Taylor announced his plan for a $1.5 billion temporary tax cut on Friday, as service stations implemented petrol caps amid a surge in panic buying.
Filling up Nationals Senator Bridget McKenzie's four-wheel drive at a Canberra service station, Mr Taylor said halving the 52.6c a litre excise, as well as the heavy vehicle road user charge, would give immediate relief for "hard-working Australians".
"We need affordable fuel in this country, we need secure fuel in this country, and we need it as fast as possible," he told reporters.
The "fully-funded" package would be offset by budget savings from axing the fringe benefits tax discount for electric vehicles, pausing home-battery subsidies, and cutting government subsidies for green hydrogen.
The move would replicate the Morrison government's halving of the fuel excise in 2022, following the oil price spike caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
That cost taxpayers $6 billion over six months and increased demand for fuel, economists said.
Before the coalition announcement, AMP chief economist Shane Oliver said another fuel excise cut would be a "big mistake" and provide no long-lasting relief.
Global economic policy forum the OECD has warned governments against implementing cost-of-living measures that incentivised fuel usage.
While broad-based measures, like fuel excise cuts, were easier to implement quickly, they weakened incentives to reduce energy use and came at a greater cost to the budget than more targeted measures, the OECD warned in a report released late Thursday.
Mr Taylor did at least follow the International Energy Agency's advice to increase carpooling to preserve fuel, arriving at the service station with Senator McKenzie.
But that was driven by necessity, rather than frugality, as Mr Taylor's car had been stolen overnight, sources close to the opposition leader confirmed.
Over the medium term, the OECD recommended speeding up the transition to renewable energy generation to reduce reliance on overseas fossil fuels.
But Nationals leader Matt Canavan blamed "Labor's net-zero war on fossil fuels" for making Australia vulnerable to a fuel crisis.
"They've struggled to take it seriously from day one, because they thought that we could all get by without needing coal, oil and gas," he said.
"The Labor Party cannot be trusted to fix this crisis."
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Friday would not be drawn on whether the government would consider a fuel excise cut.
The opposition had all week to raise the issue in parliament but didn't, he said.
"They've called also for cuts to things that are making a difference to the cost of living, such as batteries that are making a positive difference, and calls for cuts to EV support," he said.
"I don't think there is anyone out there today who has bought an electric vehicle who's regretting the decision at this point in time."
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