As surging petrol prices eat into household budgets, politicians have been trying to demonstrate their empathy with ordinary Australians with Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg signalling that this month’s budget will contain targeted assistance to ease the cost of living pressures. What this means is not clear. However, one widely discussed possibility is a cut in fuel excise. A reduction from the current rate of 44.2 cents per litre (US$1.25 per gallon) would directly offset some of the recent run-ups in prices. South Australian Premier Steven Marshall has called for a cut, while Nationals MPs Anne Webster and Susan McDonald have asked that it be considered. It’s biting people, particularly out in the regions where we travel long distances to get wherever we want to go,” Webster told the ABC. The New Zealand government has also just cut its fuel excise by 25 cents a litre (64 cents a gallon) for …