Australians are feeling pain at the pump after petrol prices reached record highs in recent weeks, eliciting more calls for a slash in fuel excise tax to curb the rising cost of living. The Australian Institute of Petroleum, an industry representative body, said the national average price for unleaded petrol went up another three point three cents in the week commencing Feb. 28 to $1.83 per litre (US$5.07 per gallon). Petrol prices in places such as the Northern Territory and Tasmania hit 195 cents per litre (US$5.41 per gallon) on average. Independent senator Rex Patrick calls on the federal government to halve fuel excise tax to 22 cents a litre to help Australian families and small businesses, which would cost the budget $6 billion. “Otherwise, we are going to have huge inflation problems,” Patrick told Sky News on March 7. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has previously refuted such calls on the …