‘A joke’: Fortescue founder takes on diesel tax credit
Fortescue chairman and founder Andrew Forrest says if the Commonwealth cuts fuel credits, more Australian miners will reduce their reliance on diesel and the budget will be better placed to support households.
Dr Forrest, who injected fresh energy into the pre-budget campaign to introduce a less generous fuel discount scheme, described it as a “long-running joke” that was preventing the wider mining industry from embracing electrification and clean energy.
“What we need now is help for Australia’s struggling mums and dads; that $2.5 billion doesn’t need to go to people who made $35 billion last year,” he told reporters at the Smart Energy Council conference in Sydney.
“This is a joke.”
The scheme provides businesses with tax breaks for using diesel in vehicles, machinery, facilities and equipment on private land and is in demand in sectors such as mining, transport, farming, forestry and fishing.
Costing approximately $11 billion per year Critics argue that rebates, which are no longer tied to road maintenance costs, put a strain on budgets and leave users dependent on an emissions-intensive fuel that leaves them vulnerable to supply chain shocks, as the war in the Middle East has exposed.
The policy has come under renewed scrutiny heading into the 2026 federal budget, with the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the Labor Environmental Action Network among supporters of a less generous plan.
Fortescue is also pushing for the wind to return. The miner is among the biggest beneficiaries but is pursuing a rapid decarbonisation agenda to run its trucks and machinery on renewable energy rather than diesel.
The iron ore producer claims it is on track to reach “true zero” by 2030, citing real emissions cuts without offsetting.
Dr Forrest highlighted growing public support for rolling back the fuel duty credit scheme when asked whether the federal government’s interest had waned since Israel and the US attacked Iran.
Several different models have been discussed, and Fortescue’s founder specifically advocates a $50 million annual cap per corporate group; This is a change that will save farmers and small businesses $2.5 billion a year while insulating them.
Federal Resources Minister Madeleine King has previously said the government is not considering changes to fuel credits in the 2026 budget, advocating their use by farmers, miners and tourism operators who do not use public roads.
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