The Australian Automobile Association says it’s short-term politics to slash the fuel excise. 

The federal government announced the cut to the fuel excise in Tuesday’s budget, bringing the fuel excise down from 44.2 cents per litre to 22.1 cents per litre for the next six months.

The cut took effect at midnight on Tuesday.

Some 4BC callers reported to 4BC Drive that they had seen prices on the way down, although it could be due to the regular price cycle.

Managing director of the AAA, Michael Bradley, says unpacking the retail price of petrol is a “mystery”.

“How much of that money gets passed on and when, I am not going to be able to explain to you and I don’t think anyone else is,” he told Scott Emerson.

The price of fuel bounces around daily, he says.

The AAA doesn’t support the cut to the fuel excise, fearing it won’t be passed on to consumers.

“We think it’s a bad idea, we think it’s short-term politics, and I think it’s going to cause more problems in the medium term than it fixes.”

Press PLAY below to hear more about why they don’t support the cut to the fuel excise