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Fuel prices have risen quickly, and for many people across NSW, there is simply nothing left to cut.
For weeks now, households have been doing what they always do in a cost-of-living crisis – tightening budgets, skipping extras, putting off travel and appointments and stretching every dollar as far as possible. But there comes a point when there are no more savings to find. For many in regional and remote communities, that point has already arrived.
In major cities, at least some people have the option to leave the car at home. Public transport can soften the blow, and some states have moved to make that relief more affordable. In some parts of regional NSW, that choice no longer exists. When there is no train, no reliable bus and long distances between home, school, work, shops and health services, driving is not a convenience. It is a necessity.
That means rising fuel costs are not just an annoyance at the bowser. They affect whether children can get to school, whether families can stay involved in sport and community life, whether people can get to medical appointments, and whether community services can continue reaching the communities that rely on them.
This was the clear message from our regional members and the sector forum last week. During the online fuel security forums we hosted, they told us small towns are struggling with supply shortages and price gouging. People who had two regular health appointments a week are scaling back to one or none. Demand for fuel vouchers is rising beyond what community organisations can meet. Outreach is being scaled back as services are forced to prioritise only the most urgent cases. The result is that people, and especially those of us already at risk, are becoming more isolated and, as during COVID-19, are being cut off again by forces well beyond their control.
And we’ve been sharing these impacts with the NSW and Federal Governments so we can unlock support where it’s needed – support for community transport and outreach, surge funding for community services to meet demand and maintain services as well as targeted assistance for households and community organisations trying to hold the line while facing acute fuel stress.
Regional communities have already lived through years of disruption – drought, fires, floods, COVID and rising housing and living costs. Another fuel shock lands harder where people have fewer services, fewer alternatives and less slack in the system.
The Federal and NSW Governments are listening – making further cuts to the fuel excise on petrol and diesel late last week provides short-term relief. But it will not be enough for families already on the edge, or for the community organisations trying to hold the line.
What is needed now is practical support: the increased Emergency Relief funding boost is very welcome, but support for community transport and outreach, and targeted assistance for households facing acute fuel stress is also needed.
This moment is a reminder that geography still shapes disadvantage in NSW. When the cost of fuel rises sharply, regional people pay more – not just at the pump, but in lost access, lost connection and lost opportunity.
If governments are serious about easing cost-of-living pressure, there must be a whole-of-government approach: city-based solutions as well as support for regional and remote communities that matches the reality on the ground.