Australian government under pressure to cut fuel excise as election nears

FILE PHOTO: Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison speaks to the media at Melbourne Commonwealth Parliament Office, in Melbourne, Australia February 11, 2022. Darrian Traynor/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

SYDNEY (Reuters) - The Australian government is under pressure to cut fuel excise as petrol prices hit an eight-year high and Prime Minister Scott Morrison trails in the polls just weeks before a general election.

Opposition Labor Party leader Anthony Albanese has drawn level with Morrison as preferred prime minister for the first time since the pandemic outbreak, according to a Newspoll published on Monday.