Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has confirmed the federal budget, due on 12 May, will not include a new tax on existing gas export contracts, citing risks to energy partnerships with key Asian trading partners during a global fuel crisis. Speaking to the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia, Albanese dismissed calls for a 25% export levy — championed by independent senator David Pocock and the Greens — as "populist rhetoric," defending the existing Petroleum Resource Rent Tax (PRRT), a federal levy on offshore oil and gas profits, as a sound framework despite critics arguing it generates too little public revenue. The decision drew sharp criticism from advocates who say multinational gas exporters are not paying a fair share for Australia's natural resources, while Albanese left open the possibility of other adjustments, such as changes affecting future contracts or modifications to the PRRT.