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As the national fuel excise ends today, the NSW Government must deliver targeted financial support for the state’s most vulnerable, particularly those in regional, rural and remote areas, warns the New South Wales Council of Social Service (NCOSS).
With fuel prices today set to spike by up to 17.5 cents per litre, and no further discounts on the excise in sight, NCOSS Policy and Advocacy Director, Ben McAlpine, said that it’s up to the State’s leaders to ensure that people living in regional, rural and remote communities – where long-distance travel exacerbates fuel costs – are not forgotten.
“People living outside of the cities bear the brunt of the fuel crisis – with long distance travel forcing choices between medical appointments, buying groceries or getting kids to school,” said Mr McAlpine.
“When fuel prices reached record highs earlier this year, people were pushed to the brink, triggering a wave of heightened mental health struggles, food insecurity, social isolation and housing instability.
“Community service organisations reported immediate financial pressure, service cutbacks, and increased psychosocial impacts on their workforces due to financial stress. We need to make sure this doesn’t happen again.
“Support from the state government could look like investment in community services, to accommodate the wave of increased instability, social isolation and deteriorating mental and physical health we are anticipating particularly in regional and remote areas, as fuel prices jump.
“NCOSS wants to see proactive investment in the people of New South Wales, to deliver care where it’s most needed, before crises occur.
“It’s up to the leaders of NSW to ensure that our state’s most vulnerable people don’t fall through the cracks, due to affordability pressures that are out of their control,” said Mr McAlpine.