Australians can expect high fuel costs to linger for far longer than the war in Iran

The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, faces a mammoth task crafting a budget that will respond to the global fuel price shock in a way that satisfies voters without adding to inflation. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

As diesel prices make history by passing $3 a litre in nearly every capital city around the country, the stresses of high fuel costs are beginning to show.

Truckies are warning they will go out of business if they can’t renegotiate their contracts with customers; farmers are warning the same, telling families that food in our supermarkets could soon cost more.