August 12, 2026The rapid shift from petrol cars to electric vehicles is eroding fuel excise faster than governments expected. A replacement road user charge is inevitable, but a rushed or fragmented scheme could create new problems of fairness, privacy and administration. Last Monday the Commonwealth restored the full 53.7 cents per litre of gasoline and diesel excise, and restored road user charges for heavy vehicles. As Parkinson explains, the New South Wales government would prefer the Commonwealth to set and collect the charge. A commonwealth charge would overcome cross-border problems, but there are plenty of other problems in a hastily-established road user charge.