Finance Minister Esrom Immanuel has ruled out broad tax relief on fuel, telling Parliament that completely removing fuel duty would slice more than $150 million from government revenue and “materially weaken” its ability to deliver essential services and support vulnerable communities. In a ministerial statement in Parliament this morning, Immanuel said rising global fuel prices and inflation have already tightened fiscal space and that blanket duty removal is not a viable option.
Instead, Immanuel said the Government is pursuing a “balanced, targeted and fiscally responsible” response that channels support to key sectors and households rather than eliminating revenue streams that fund core public services. He repeated that measures will aim to cushion the most affected while preserving the Government’s capacity to meet ongoing spending demands brought on by higher global prices.
A large portion of Immanuel’s statement was devoted to defending the Fijian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (FCCC) fuel-pricing framework. He described the system as transparent and rules-based, applying a “lowest cost operator” principle on a monthly basis. The finance minister set out the key inputs that feed into the FCCC pricing formula: international refined fuel prices, exchange rates, shipping and freight costs, insurance, taxes and regulated wholesale and retail margins.
Immanuel also highlighted the use of regional benchmarks, saying Fiji’s domestic prices are closely tied to international markets and that the FCCC relies on the Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS) benchmark to reflect regional pricing for refined petroleum products. He denied any substantive change to FCCC methodology since April, saying the regulator merely adjusted its pricing window to better capture rapid international price movements during a volatile period — a step he said aligned domestic prices more closely with real‑time market conditions and avoided delays in reflecting sharp international shifts.
Opposition MP Alvick Maharaj reacted forcefully, accusing the Government of responding late to mounting global pressures and leaving households under undue strain. “We need to put people first. Fiji deserves proactive leadership, clear communication and structured relief and not broken promises,” Maharaj told Parliament, questioning earlier assurances from government leaders and describing recent fuel supports as reactive, ad hoc and insufficient to address the wider cost-of-living squeeze. He argued subsidies and other allocations arrived too late and do not match the scale of the current pressures on families and businesses.
Immanuel framed the debate as a trade-off between immediate relief and long‑term fiscal stability, stressing that Fiji’s status as a small, import-dependent economy makes it particularly exposed to global oil shocks that quickly feed through to local costs. Parliament is set to continue deliberations this afternoon as lawmakers press the Government on how best to balance consumer relief with safeguarding revenue for essential services.