Coalition vows to cut $15 off tank of petrol when global prices spike

The opposition is proposing to cut the fuel tax in half when global prices hit $US100 over two weeks.

The Coalition says it will fund the measure through $8 billion generated from its planned cuts to the tobacco excise.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers dismissed the policy and said the government was not considering any future cuts to the fuel excise.

The opposition is promising to cut the cost of fuel when the global price spikes, saying the measure would slash about $15 off an average tank of petrol.

Under the policy announced today, the Coalition said it would halve the fuel excise when the global price of Brent crude oil reaches an average of $US100 a barrel over a two-week period.

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor said the initiative, called Fuel Price Shield, would be "fully funded" through the Coalition's policy of cutting back the tobacco excise.

"Fuel Price Shield is all about providing relief at the bowser when it really counts," Mr Taylor said in Canberra.

"When we see two weeks where the price has averaged over $[US]100 a barrel, which means we're getting up towards $3 a litre at the bowser, there will be relief for Australians under a Coalition government."

Those prices, he said, are similar to what motorists are seeing at the pump now, with the re-escalation of war in the Middle East pushing up the price of petrol.

The Coalition's policy to cut the tobacco excise by 80 per cent would raise $8 billion, according to modelling from the Parliamentary Budget Office.

Mr Taylor said the Coalition would also eliminate the 32-cent road user charge for heavy vehicles to take pressure off the cost of transporting goods.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers dismissed the opposition's fuel policy, saying it was "uncapped and unfunded".

He told News24's Sunday Agenda the policy had more to do with "polling numbers than petrol prices", suggesting the Coalition was under pressure from One Nation.

Economist Chris Richardson said most economists have consistently said cutting the fuel tax is a "bad bandaid" that worsens inflation.