As global oil markets grow more fragile under the weight of Middle Eastern conflict, Red Sea disruptions, and damaged Russian refineries, Australia has chosen this moment to quietly close the chapter on its fuel excise relief. The discount — once a 32-cent buffer against rising pump prices — has tapered to nothing, expiring Sunday at midnight by deliberate government design. Treasurer Jim Chalmers frames the end as a natural conclusion to a temporary measure that fulfilled its purpose, even as Treasury officials privately warn that the world's capacity to absorb the next oil shock has rarely b