Federal Member for Hume Angus Taylor has welcomed today’s announced increase in the fuel excise as a win for regional roads.

Mr Taylor said the Government would be tabling in the House of Representatives this week tariff proposals to take effect from two weeks’ time on 10 November 2014.

“This will see an increase in the fuel excise from 38.14 cents per litre to 38.6 cents per litre, less than half a cent per litre, so it’s really quite small.

“The important point here is that the money raised, an estimated $2.2 billion over the forward estimates, will go straight back into road investment. That’s the critical thing. What we want to see in rural areas and I know my constituents want to see is investment in those roads.

“We’re putting more money into programs like Roads to Recovery and we will continue to do that, but this excise increase is also an important and growing revenue stream.

“It’s very, very small, about 40 cents per week for the average household which consumes 50 litres of fuel a week, but while the impact on individual households will be slight, the revenue source will help boost investment in under-funded rural roads, like those in Hume Rural roads, as we know, desperately need that money.”

Mr Taylor also spoke out today on the class action being taken by cattle exporters over the 2011 ban on live cattle exports.

In an interview with ABC Television he said the single most important thing Government could do for cattle producers was to get the live export trade going strongly again.

“This was a terrible decision by the previous Labor Government. It crippled a crucial export industry, creating a glut in the market by filling the abattoirs and sharply driving down farm gate cattle prices. It’s still recovering today.

“I will not be commenting on the court action, but it’s well and truly open to these claimants to go ahead with their claim. What I will say is that we have to make sure that we spend taxpayer dollars well, we have to be a model litigant in this case and that’s what we will be doing.”